Two schoolgirls blinded in acid attack in Afghanistan

On Wednesday, November 12, the lives of several young girls in Kandahar, Afghanistan, were changed forever. While they were walking to school, they were attacked by two men who sprayed acid on them, blinding at least two of the girls. It is suspected that Taliban militants are responsible for the act. Under the Taliban regime from 1996-2001, women and girls were forbidden to attend school. Since the fall of the Taliban, women and girls have had the opportunity to attain education, much to the distress of Taliban leaders and militants. In the past few years, several school girls have been threatened, attacked, and even killed for going to school.

Unfortunately, acid attacks on women is not an uncommon phenomenon in South Asian countries like India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh; however, it is usually practiced by men taking revenge against women who refuse to respond to a man's romantic or sexual overtures. The recent horrific acid attack in Afghanistan seems like a new tactic being used by the Taliban in their ongoing assault on girls and women practicing their right to education.

UUSC has four program partners in Afghanistan — Afghan Center, Afghan Women Judges Association, Barakat, and Humanitarian Assistance for Women and Children of Afghanistan. All of them have reported a worsening security situation that makes their work more challenging. Anyone following the news knows that over the past couple of years, many of the gains in establishing security and advancing rights for marginalized populations in Afghanistan have been lost.

One of UUSC's newest program partners, Barakat, is an organization that creates educational opportunities for women and children in Afghanistan, India, and Pakistan. What began as a weaving project in the late 1980s has since developed into an innovative strategy for helping local communities shape their own future.

Barakat's programs in Afghanistan are an attempt to fill the void and expand opportunities for girls and women. Barakat's educational programs include schools, literacy programs, and women's empowerment programs. In particular, UUSC supports Barakat's efforts to raise awareness about citizens' rights under the constitution, which guarantees human rights, women's rights, and civil liberties. To achieve this, Barakat provides human-rights training to Barakat School and Literacy Course teachers, who can then introduce these topics in their classrooms.

We asked Barakat's Program Manager, Arti Pandey, on her thoughts about the acid attacks and here is what she had to say:

"It is just appalling...it really chills the heart that someone could so callously, easily, and willfully destroy the life of another individual — a stranger to them but a symbol of something they oppose! I can't imagine how much hatred they must carry in their hearts to actually perform an act like this...

I don't know how widespread it is in Afghanistan. It has been happening in India and Pakistan but most often [it] is a case of "punishing" some woman/girl for not responding to (or breaking off from) a man's romantic overtures. It is the ultimate manner (and very safe too because it is done from a distance) in which to finally humble and reduce a woman (short of rape) without actually killing her... Plastic surgery is expensive and most of these women/girls will not be able to afford it.

I do believe that the Taliban act with more impunity and openness in the southern districts like Kandahar where this attack happened... The Pashtoon population is dominant in Kandahar — there are also Hazaras and Tajiks there, though as minorities. But an incident like this has repercussions for everyone across the country. After all, even our own Country Director sends his daughters to school in Kabul (they walk to school) and something like this would chill his heart for fear of his own children's safety — that is a natural reaction — isn't it? How can it be such a curse to simply be born a girl?"

We at UUSC are committed to working with our partners in Afghanistan to create a fair and just society that protects the rights of all Afghans, especially women and girls.

To learn more about UUSC's Civil Liberties Program and how you can get involved, visit www.uusc.org/civilliberties.