Her name was Abida. To escape a forced marriage, she chose to die in a manner as violent as it was shocking. Exasperated by the violent pressure for a forced marriage imposed on her, on April 27th, in the village of Darzab Nili, in the province of Ghor, the young woman set herself on fire.
Her family reported that a few days before the terrible act, the Taliban had come to their home and arrested her father, Mohammad Alam, and Abida’s two brothers for opposing the young woman’s forced marriage to a member of the Taliban.
According to local sources, despite the refusal, a Taliban commander, Haji Mohammad Rahmani, wanted to force Abida to marry his brother Mohammad Azim and for this reason had returned to the village to take her away against her will. This is the unacceptable fate she wanted to escape and which, unfortunately, affects many young women who do not have the strength or the possibility to resist.
Abida, terrified by the Taliban’s raid, set herself on fire by pouring flammable material on herself. The very serious burns she suffered, unfortunately, left her no chance, despite attempts to extinguish the flames that engulfed her.
So far, no official Taliban source has issued statements on the tragedy, but Abida’s sacrifice has attracted the attention of national and international media and has triggered widespread reactions on social media as well. Journalists from ZanTv and other media outlets, such as Rukhshana Media, the poet Somaia Ramish, intellectuals, and activists have appealed to the international community to shed light once again on the terrible condition of Afghan women, now deprived of their basic rights and forced to endure continuous violations and harassment. The Women’s Movement Towards Freedom, in a statement, described Abida’s self-immolation as “a symbol of the silent cry of Afghan women” and strongly condemned the Taliban regime for its systematic violence against women: “Abida, a girl among thousands of silent daughters of this land, under the rule of the patriarchal system and Taliban fascism, at the moment when all walls were raised against her, decided to set herself on fire so that her voice would not remain silent.” Expressing sorrow for this incident, the Movement called the Taliban a “terrorist and misogynistic group” and stressed that they must be held accountable in international courts for their crimes.
Deprived of the possibility of studying, working, going out independently, speaking in public, even praying aloud, looking out the window… without a voice, without a body, even without the possibility of choosing their own husband, these are the Afghan women at this moment.
Numerous reports from human rights organizations and independent media in recent years have reported a worrying increase in forced and child marriages in various provinces of Afghanistan.
In these dramatic accounts, forced marriage is unanimously described as a form of brutal structural violence against women. The United Nations, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International have repeatedly expressed their concern about the serious restrictions on the rights of Afghan women and girls under the Taliban regime.
Unfortunately, many human rights experts have pointed out how self-immolation often represents the extreme attempt in the face of unsustainable psychological pressure, a paralyzing sense of powerlessness, and overwhelming structural violence. In many cases, victims have no possibility of legal support or safe shelter to resist the coercion. In Afghanistan, news of young women making extreme choices is heard all too often; for too many women, the brutal alternative is to surrender to an imposed fate or annihilate themselves in an act of desperation.
Civil campaigns in the virtual space with hashtags like #JusticeForAbida and #NoToForcedMarriage have called on international organizations to take responsibility for the situation of Afghan girls.
Abida is now deceased, but her story reveals once again a bitter reality, and we cannot and must not turn away. It is not possible to accept that Afghan women are forced to make extreme choices to assert their rights and make their voices heard.
Abida, your cry of pain has reached us here!
