Growing Violence, Subjugation of Women Mark Forgotten War in Afghanistan

Interview with James Ingalls, co-director of the Afghan Women's Mission, conducted by Scott Harris

While much of the world focuses on the continuing bloodshed and chaos in Iraq, the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan receives comparatively little attention. However, a rocket attack targeting the U.S. Embassy in the Afghan capital of Kabul on April 19 is a reminder of the increasing number of recent attacks and suicide bombings by Taliban fighters across southern and eastern regions of Afghanistan.

While the rocket attack missed the Embassy and no one was injured, some Afghan civilians were not so lucky in a series of incidents in mid-April. Seven civilians were killed and three were injured in a U.S. air strike in Kunar province on April 15. Four of the dead were children. In Khost, American soldiers shot and wounded three women and a newborn girl returning from a hospital on April 17. A man and a 7-year-old boy were also shot and injured April 18 on the outskirts of Khost by U.S. troops. According to U. S. military officials, both incidents occurred when vehicles failed to slowdown at check points.

Human rights groups are also decrying a deteriorating situation for women inside Afghanistan. The United Nations reports that during 2005, 300 girls' schools were burned down, while women's literacy is half that of men. One year ago, the Bush administration succeeded in eliminating the post of the UN's top human rights monitor in Afghanistan after he had criticized the U.S. military for arbitrary arrests, illegal detentions and abuses committed by American-led forces. Between the Lines Scott Harris spoke with James Ingalls, co-director of the group Afghan Women's Mission, who assesses the growing violence and repression in Afghanistan.

Contact the Afghan Women's Mission, by calling (626) 676-7884 or visit their website at www.afghanwomensmission.org

Related links:

Get more information on the status of women in Afghanistan by visiting the website of the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan www.rawa.org

"Selective Outrage," by Sonali Kolhatkar and James Ingalls, AlterNet.org, March 30, 2006



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