Sahar Gul

Hi everyone!

Whew! Just got home from two weeks in the mountains of Colorado with the family...didn't have much fresh powder, but it's so beautiful up there, it doesn't matter.

Now back to business...

The other day I profiled the work of an inspiring young Afghani man, Mr. Sayyid Hashemi, who is working with the Afghani government to improve the lives of Afghanistan's 1.6 million orphans. Today I want to bring your attention to an example of the types of behaviors and conditions many young Afghanis  face on a daily basis--particularly young girls and women--that unfortunately, more often than not goes unreported.

Fifteen year-old Sahar Gul was rescued last week from an insidious plot by her mother-in-law and sister-in-law to sell her into prostitution. The girl was found in the basement of her in-law's house, where she had been kept a prisoner for six months. During this time, as reported in today's New York Times, Sahar was subjected to repeated abuse and torture, which allegedly included the ripping out of her fingernails, burning her with hot irons, and breaking her fingers.

According to the article, Sahar was married around seven months ago. Her husband, whose name the article doesn't mention, is a soldier in the Afghan Army. An arrest warrant has been issued for his capture.  The article goes on to say that Sahar's in-laws were involved in "criminal activities" that may have included selling alcohol and prostitution. Sahar resisted her in-law's insistence that she become a prostitute, whereupon they subsequently locked her in the basement and tortured her.

Apparently, this case has sent shockwaves through the Karzai administration. And well it should. In a tribal society where women are often treated as less than second-class citizens, where as a regular occurrence girls as young as seven and eight are married to much older men, Sahar's story is probably not all that uncommon.

If there is one fortunate thing to come out of the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan, it is the fact that stories like Sahar's now have a better chance of coming to the attention of international human rights advocates as well as the media. It also calls to attention the fact that much still has to be done. It may very well prove to be an impossible task to reform and "modernize" the practices of an ancient society that has never taken well to outside intervention. And while I believe that there is something to be said for letting a country be in charge of its sovereignty, there is absolutely no place in the 21st century for this kind of barbarity to be allowed to continue.

Until human rights abuses are completely eradicated from the world -- knowing full well that this is probably an impossibility -- it is our duty as human beings to bring to light stories such as Sahar's, and work to eradicate the subjugation of women and children throughout the world.

As this blog continues to evolve, I will work to bring to light both the good and the bad and remind all of us that, as citizens of the world regardless of religion or political affiliation, it is our responsibility to come together to help those who are simply not in a position to help themselves.

Our prayers are with you Sahar.

Ciao.