Imagine that you are a seven-year-old girl and you are being made to do things that you don’t want to do. This was my situation eleven long years ago… Let me tell you my story. My name is Laila. I am from Afghanistan. I was seven years old when my real mother put me into prostitution for money. I could not spend my childhood like other children. I was not allowed to go to school. I could not wear a school uniform, and there was no one to give me a pen. Instead of a pen, my mother, brother, and stepfather slapped and forced me to go out and be with strange men so that I could bring back money for them. I was beaten very badly if I did not obey them. There was no one to support me or to help me get out of the terrible life I was living. I felt hopeless. I thought everything in my life was finished and there was nothing to look forward to. But I was wrong. After my mother went to prison, Women for Afghan Women (WAW) took me to one of their Children’s Support Centers. I was scared …
Stories
How WAW helped Zaafirah walk again
Zaafirah is 17 years old. She has just learned to walk again. Zaafirah’s tragedy began the day she was forced into a marriage with a man from her village in an exchange arranged by her parents. The harrowing abuse started as soon as the young girl moved in with her new husband and in-laws. Her parents would remain in the dark because Zaafirah’s husband and in-laws would ban her from visiting or communicating with her family. After months of abuse that amounted to torture, Zaafirah became so weak and her condition deteriorated to such a terrible state that her in-laws contacted her father and told him that she had been diagnosed with cancer. They asked him to come to their house to take her back, alluding that she was “damaged goods.” When her father arrived, they handed over Zaafirah at their doorstep without letting him into the house. Once they got home, Zaafirah’s father realized that she had suffered the most unbearable physical abuse. Muscles in her leg were severed, her nails had …
Farah’s Story
“When I was 8 years old, my father died and I was sent to live with my grandfather, who immediately married me off to his cousin. After many years of mistreatment, I finally ran away to live with my aunt. But my aunt’s husband quickly sold me to a complete stranger. I was forced to be with him for three days. I ran away from my buyer’s house and fled to the nearest police station. When the police summoned my aunt’s husband, he, of course, denied his crime and accused me of having sexual relations with his son. Instead of my uncle going to jail, I was sent to a juvenile rehabilitation center, where I served an 18-month sentence for adultery. When I was released, I returned to my aunt because I had nowhere else to go. Two weeks later, I found out that my aunt’s husband was planning to marry me off again to a 60-year-old man for money. I ran away once more—but, this time, I fled to the Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MoWA). The staff at MoWA immediately referred me to Women for Afghan Women …
Damsa’s Story
Damsa was forced by her family to marry a man who, along with her in-laws, constantly abused her. Damsa went to her family for help, but they ignored her pleas in order to safeguard their standing in the community, as having a divorced daughter would "shame" them. One night, after a particularly violent altercation, Damsa's in-laws called the police, blaming her for the incident. She was taken into custody for eight days. After an investigation, however, the police concluded that Damsa was the victim, not the perpetrator, and referred her case to Women for Afghan Women (WAW). After arriving at WAW, Damsa was given a clean bed and new clothes. Because of the abuse she had experienced, this gesture of respect meant so much to her. She was then enrolled in vocational, life-skills, and literacy classes, as well as education about women's rights in Islam. With support from one of WAW's defense lawyers, Damsa also succeeded in obtaining a legal separation from her husband. She received …