They can leave their homes only in the company of a close male relative, and only if they are completely covered by a burqa, an all-encompassing garment with a small mesh opening through which the wearer can see and breathe. Women violating any of the rules can be beaten on the spot. Medical care for women is largely a thing of the past. Male doctors are not allowed to examine the female body. Women and girls are dying in droves from untreated diseases.
Widows especially lead gruesome existences.
Unable to work, many have been reduced to begging for food. Prostitution is reported to be increasing. Rape, forced marriages, forced prostitution and other forms of abuse have become commonplace. Resistance has been met with savage beatings, mutilations, abductions and murder. Miss Shams came to my office with her aunt, Zieba Shorish Shamley, who lives in Washington, where she runs the Women's Alliance for Peace and Human, rights in Afghanistan.