I a 45-year-old Afghan woman have 5 children with 2 daughters-in-law one of whom is living with me. What I wish is to be a good mother, now want to recount an overview of my 34 years of struggle living in Afghanistan a war-torn country. To be honest I’ve always yearned a peaceful life through all these years, since either it was war or seeking shelter in neighboring countries. Now back in my land I’m trying to prepare a quite quaint life without any distress of trouble or conflicts but it is pretty hard coping with plights coming every now and then to Afghan women. Every morning I fear receiving another predicament or trouble like kidnapping, explosions or concerning women a forced marriage. I heartedly wish for the day sending my children to school without concerning if they can manage make it come back home all well. 

            Since woman voice is hardly heard here in Afghanistan, I try to use this opportunity expressing myself to whoever reads this short article. There is lot to say about women in Afghanistan, from just staying home cleaning diapers to being sold or forcing marriage to a rich man. Once wear a mask having a women disposition and imagine yourself all alone in a house with 4 or 5 children or serving a whole in-law family along with condemn, hit and disrespect. I’ve always wanted to have a job and earn my own living so that I would not be dependent to others but the situation and circumstances does not allow, hopefully now it’s getting better and there is peephole of hope having a suitable condition for the future girls of this country. In fact having a situation like that of foreign countries’ women is far-fetched longing for an Afghan woman.

Sometimes as I walk along narrow alleys full of dust and mud, I ask myself why we are is such a situation and wonder if we deserve it, all this difference is always a question for me since apparently I’m also a human like millions of others. By the way, have you ever been tested by kidnapping your child and asking ransom and after a while receiving your child’s dead body? This is something women in Afghanistan are getting used to.  What is bothering now is the patriarchal treatment of the society suppressing women desires and ideas; whatever they wish should be done, cooked, prepared and we like robots obey. So long as this situation goes on, neither the men would consent to give chance to women having more opportunities nor women would be able to rise out of a chaos and express themselves.