Atrocities: 1.5 Million Afghani Widows, Illiterate, Earning $16/Month And Often Forced To Beg or Prostitute Themselves
The following report from IRIN tells the ghastly truth of what it is like for women in the aftermath of decades of militarism in Afghanistan:
“There over 1.5 million widows out of an estimated 26.6 million people in Afghanistan, according to Beyond 9/11, a US-based nonprofit group that provides direct financial support to Afghan widows and their children. Some 50,000-70,000 widows live in Kabul alone, it says.
The government of Afghanistan does not have an accurate figure for the number of widows in the country, but some officials say there are more than 1.5 million.
Most widows illiterate
“The average age of an Afghan widow is just 35 years, and 94 percent of them are unable to read and write,� Deborah Zalesne, a board member of the Beyond 9/11 and a law professor at the City University of New York, told IRIN.
“About 90 percent of Afghan widows have children, and the average widow has more than four,� Zalesne added.
To survive many Afghan widows weave carpets, do tailoring, beg or even engage in prostitution.
In urban areas where women have better access to employment and other services than in conservative rural areas, an average working widow earns about $16 a month, experts estimate.”
Filed under: Uncategorized, Atrocities, Militarism, U.S. Politics, Misogyny
My wish is that the Gov`t in USA will see the world as Human Beings instead of Dollar signs.Maybe then we will stop feeding this “WAR OF TERROR” and feed and empower the people in need.Including the people of Afghanistan who I feel the world owes so much.
May Allah (swt) bless your efforts.
I think there are many citizens around the world that care deeply for the plight of the Afghani women and children. When gov’ts send money it goes to the corrupt, so in my view it takes private donations.
I wonder why the other muslim countries don’t support their poor brothers? Any ideas?