Child Bride Sahar Gul (15 years old)

I hate to start a brand New Year with this article. It is Year 2012. Twenty-first Century. Things have changed for the better for a lot of young girls and women in Afghan. There are girl schools where young girls can learn to read and write. There are women walking freely around on the street, unafraid. Then this picture and news came in.

Sahar Gul is only 15 years old, severely beaten, her eyes swollen nearly shut. Her finger nails ripped out, she was tortured with hot iron and her fingers broken. Why? Her in-laws were forcing her into prostitution. I wonder where was her "husband"? or was there really a "marriage"? or the "in-law" was more in line with the category of "human trafficker"?



Or this is just another unimaginable treatment of girls? Treatments that change depending on the "needs" and conveniences of the male leaders of the family and community. Treatments ranging from
1. Marrying out the girl when she is only a child....I guess that the parents need the money and the in-laws need a slave and the husband needs a sex object?

2. Giving away girls to settle a debt of the family. The parents owe money, so in so many words, they sell their daughter to whoever they owe money to.

3. Giving away the girls for the sins of other male relatives. The story that made me physically ill was the gang rape of Mukhtaran Mai in Pakistan. Fourteen men had been accused of taking part in the rape, which was ordered in 2002 by village elders sitting as a traditional tribal court after Mai's brother was accused of having illicit relations with a woman from a rival clan. So she was raped for the sins of her brother. Read the full story here.

4. Then, of course, we have the so called "honor killing" which go entirely against all of the above scenarios where I certainly see no "honor" in any of them. Of course the definition of "honor" also also changes depending on the "needs" of its male leadership.

Am I the only one who does not understand any of these? Is there any logic or even consistency of reasoning in all these "treatments" of girls?

If you are interested in looking deeper into issue of "honor killing", here is a great article “TAKE MY RICHES, GIVE ME JUSTICE”: A CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF PAKISTAN’S HONOR CRIMES LEGISLATION" by Mazna Hussain here.

To end this article with a "higher note": the news pointed out that there has been actual "progress" in this shocking darkness: 1. Her uncle did call the police (after 7 months). I am glad that a male relative in that family does have honor. 2. The out cry of the society and the responses of the government certainly indicate changing of attitude and increasing awareness of women's right.

My brothers and sisters, all I can conclude is: this is a spiritual battle more than anything else. We need to be alert and keep watch. Let's continue to fight against this darkness through our voices, our prayers, and our actions. God's mercy and justice will prevail!