News Article

     Laura King is the author of the news article, "Afghan sisters hurt in acid attack over rejected proposal," found on the Los Angeles Times website. A young Afghan women and her two sisters were the victims of an acid throwing attack three days after her family declined a marriage proposal from an older man, in Kunduz province, north of Kabul. All three sisters, including the eldest, a seventeen year old whose hand in marriage had been asked, were hospitalized after the attack by an assailant who came to their home. He was believed to be the groom. Acid attacks against women are not uncommon in Afghanistan, but many do not come to light, especially if they are the result of a private clan dispute.
     Arranged marriages are the norm in much of Afghanistan, and a woman generally cannot go against her family's wishes, but the young woman in Kunduz had the backing of her family in rejecting the match. The Taliban and the Pashtun ethnic group from which the movement is largely drawn, often take the harshest line against women who do not submit to forced marriages. Arranged marriages are uneasy to deal with from the women's perspective and on top of that getting attacked with acid makes the situation worse. I think women should be given the simple right to chose their life partner and not be penalized for rejecting someone. Any country who supports such actions should consider moving forward with the rest of the world and punish those who harm women and their rights in any way.