By Tyler Pruett
tyler@southerntorch.com
While the situation for women and children in Afghanistan has improved since the U.S.-led coalition toppled the Taliban in 2001, the region remains one of the worst places on earth to live as a woman or a child. Before U.S. intervention while under Taliban rule, women were publicly flogged for simple things such as leaving their home without a male escort or learning to read and write. After the coalition installed a new government, these repressive laws were abolished and conditions improved greatly during the early occupation. Afghanistan even saw women elected to public office for the first time and girls were given the opportunity to pursue education without fear.
The large coalition troop presence in the war-torn country during the initial years gave civilians access to a reliable security force that could frequently intervene when abusive situations were encountered. American soldiers and marines encountered many situations that combat training could not and did not prepare them for. Violent acts which had long since been accepted as the normal in Afghani culture, but were never the normal or acceptable in American culture. One such tradition is that of warlords owning young boys as sex slaves. Many of these warlords were allied with the U.S., exposing soldiers and marines to this grotesque practice. Individual commanders on the ground were given the freedom to intervene, punish, and replace these warlords; breaking the cycle of abuse in their areas of operation.
It’s unclear when exactly the policy changes came about, but around 2008 - 2010 reports began to surface of U.S. servicemen being advised to ignore the abuse to maintain good relations with the local militia and police units tasked with fighting the Taliban. Several soldiers and marines were even punished by the military for intervening in these situations. Last September, the New York Times (NYT) published a detailed editorial on the rampant abuse and some of the servicemen whose lives and careers were ruined for standing up for Afghanistan’s children. The editorial even sheds light on this cultural practice, known in Afghanistan as, “bacha bazi, or literally ‘boy play.’” To one special forces officer mentioned in the story, Dan Quinn, the sight of a young boy chained to the bed of a local warlord as his slave was too much to bear. Captain Quinn was relieved of his command for assaulting the aforementioned warlord. This practice is unacceptable to those serving on the ground, as it should be to our military and political leadership.
More recently last month, the NYT ran another story detailing the plight of a 20-year-old Afghani woman, Reza Gul. In an argument with her husband of six years (she was forced to marry at the age of 14), Reza’s husband cut her nose off. This was not the first occurrence of violence the young woman had to endure at the hands of her husband, but only the worst. In her six years of marriage, her husband and, “members of his family have regularly abused her, beating her and binding her in chains.” This violence against women, like the practice of bacha bazi, runs rampant throughout Afghanistan. If you’re wondering what sparked the argument that led to Reza’s disfigurement, the answer is quite indicative of the culture; the woman’s husband had, “taken his uncle’s 6- or 7-year-old daughter as his fiancee, with the intention of making her his second wife.”
With the troop draw-down and the ineffectiveness of Afghan security forces, the conditions for the civilian population has been drastically worsening in recent years. Restrictive rules of engagement impede combat operations against the Taliban, while also making it nearly impossible to protect the innocent from an abusive culture. While respecting other cultures is important when serving in a foreign country, some things should never have to be accepted as that. We cannot treat the subject of child sex abuse as if it were something as benign as taking off shoes before entering a home. Many abuse victims will simply accept it as normal, and grow into adulthood perpetuating the same abuse, thus continuing the cycle. If our troops were not restricted from intervening during the majority of our 14-year presence, the cycle would at least be broken for a generation.
While the emotional damage to the affected women and children should be obvious, the not-so-obvious damage from this practice hides among our veterans. Our soldiers and marines feel a duty to protect the defenseless; it’s a reason many make the decision to serve. This makes it virtually impossible to ignore cruel treatment of women and children. Witnessing something this horrific and not being allowed to intervene causes emotional damage all on its own, and in my opinion contributes to post-deployment issues such as post traumatic stress disorder.
With the power vacuum created by the exit of foreign troops, families of victims are left with only the Taliban in many areas to punish abusers. This is especially disturbing considering the Taliban promoted this violent culture, and many soldiers have died in an effort to keep them from returning. The NYT article concludes with Reza’s father speaking with the Taliban, and demanding justice. While I absolutely despise our enemy, I can’t help but imagine myself in this father’s shoes. Having only the options of either seeking justice from the only source around, or do nothing, many of us would likely do the same.
