An Exploratory Study of the Political Abuse of Women in Afghanistan

Abstract

Women, the 48.45% of total Afghan population usually termed and referred as the most victimized clan of Afghanistan. It is engendered notion and perceived as reality around the world. Undoubtedly, Mujahidin and later the Taliban have made the situation miserable for women. But, comparatively, women in Afghanistan did not face as many cruelties earlier during Taliban regime as they suffering today. They were secured, honored and allowed to participate equally in all spheres of life ranging from socio-economic to religio-political during the reign of Taliban. Majority of the religious elite among the Muslims interprets the religious teachings according to its own requirements to assure legitimacy particularly in the context of women. Same is the case with Afghanistan, which, being the buffer state, had been remained epicenter for political interests of world powers and who used its soil to expand or legitimize their authority, violate human rights specifically women as wartime strategy to achieve the goals. This intricate study with reference to the manipulated status of women is based on qualitative method and will explore the political dimensions where women have been used as wartime strategy to legitimize the power. It is based on explanatory and exploratory goals of the study. The thematic and observational approach will be used to analyze the available qualitative data by using secondary sources.