Stop extremism. Teach Afghan kids to embrace peace

The world was recently shocked and horrified over a video showing a mob of angry Afghan men beating to death and burning a 27 year old Afghan woman named Farkhunda who was accused of allegedly burning a Q'uran; a claim that was later proven false.  Sadly, in death, Farkhunda earned her 15 minutes of fame as the media, world leaders and others condemmed her brutal killing and for a brief moment, the plight of Afghan women became a news item.

Then, just as predictably, the media and the world moved on to the next big story and Farkhunda's death became an after-thought.  But the real tragedy is, thousands of Afghan women and girls are beaten, abused, raped and killed every year and no one knows their names. 

Despite constitutional laws designed to protect women and girls, beatings, abuses, harassments and deaths are commonplace throughout Afghanistan, from small remote villages to large urgan cities like Kabul.  As a male dominated society, most Afghan women are treated as commodities and second class citizens.  In many homes women are beaten (not just by their husbands), but by other female family members.  Boys quickly learn that they are favored over their sisters.  This significantly impacts their attitudes about girls and women as they grow older.  Many girls who reach puberty are pulled from school and forced into early marriages with men who often abuse them and prevent them from working, voting and participating in local civic affairs, even though Afghanistan's Constitution gives women these rights.

HTAC's project of preventing violence against women and girls is changing attitudes and behaviors of men and communities in targeted regions of the country where we work.  Our project has four objectives:  1) teach and motivate male leaders to respect and value women as community partners by including and involving them in local councils; 2) educate and train parents and other adults on the use of non-violent conflict resolution methods in homes, thereby reducing abuse and threatening behavior toward women and girls; 3) educate Afghan boys in schools to reject violence and adopt the principles of peaceful, everyday living, which has historically reduced fighting and aggressive behaviors; and 4) educate women and girls about their constitutional rights and protections and empower them to take more active roles in local community affairs.

Our task will not be easy and we face enormous challenges, but through education and your help, we can begin to transform a culture that moves from violence to one of peace and cooperation.  If we want to honor women like Farkhunda and thousands like her who have died violent deaths, this is a good way.  Lets make sure that girls (like 7th grader Atifa shown here), will grow up in a safe environment so they can lead productive, fulfilled lives,.