Human Trafficking in [Afghanistan Street Children in [Afghanistan] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Afghanistan] [other countries] |
Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery In the early years of the 21st
Century - 2000 to 2010 gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Afghanistan.htm
Afghanistan is a source, transit,
and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the
purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. Afghan boys and
girls are trafficked within the country for commercial sexual exploitation,
forced marriage to settle debts or disputes, forced begging, as well as
forced labor or debt bondage in brick kilns, carpet-making factories, and
domestic service. Afghan children are also trafficked to Iran and Pakistan
for forced labor, particularly in Pakistan’s carpet factories, and forced
marriage. - U.S. State Dept
Trafficking in Persons Report, June, 2009 [full country
report] |
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CAUTION: The
following links have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in ***
FEATURED ARTICLES *** Out Of Money? Sell Your Daughter Haytullah Gaheez,
Jewish World Review, February 16, 2005 www.jewishworldreview.com/0205/selling_daughters.php3?printer_friendly [accessed 18 January 2011] Zeva's eyes filled with tears as the
10-year-old's father took her by the arm and handed her over to the man from
whom he had borrowed 50,000 afghanis, or about
$1,000. "I cannot pay you in any
other way. Take my daughter," said Gul Miran, 42, a farmer in Nangarhar
province. Like many other farmers in "I accepted the girl in return for my loan,"
said Haji Naqibullah, who
had advanced Gul Miran
the money. "We had an agreement. He would (pay me back) regardless of
whether his crops were wiped out by the weather or by the government. "In a year or 18 months I will marry her off to my
youngest son," he said. "He is 19 years old and has been married to
his first wife for two years but has not had a child yet." Afghan carpet weavers are unpaid slaves, rights activist
says Syrian Arab News Agency [accessed 18 January 2011] Women choose death over marriage James Astill in At one time this article had been archived and may
possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 3 September 2011] "Every minute of every day,
she was fetching water, growing crops, looking after animals and children,
cleaning the house. She was patient, but it was too much for her: she was
educated and sensitive. She found it hard to live like a slave." She was not alone in her
suffering, nor in the agonising way she chose to die. Anecdotal evidence suggests several
hundred young women are burning themselves to death in western ***
ARCHIVES *** The Department of Labor’s 2004 Findings on the Worst Forms
of Child Labor www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/tda2004/afghanistan.htm [accessed 18 January 2011] INCIDENCE
AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - Afghanistan is a country of origin and transit for children
trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation, forced marriage, labor,
domestic servitude, slavery, crime, and the removal of body organs. Since early 2003, there have been
increasing reports of children reported as missing throughout the
country. It is also reported that
impoverished Afghan families have sold their children into forced sexual
exploitation, marriage, and labor. Human Rights Reports » 2006
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2006/78868.htm [accessed 18 January 2011] WOMEN – Forced marriages continued to be a widespread
problem. Previous AIHRC reporting estimated that 60 to 80 percent of all
marriages were forced. The AIHRC estimated that approximately 40 percent of
marriages were forced, and distinguished this category from another 20
percent of marriages that were "arranged," in which the woman was
not allowed to choose her own spouse but may opt not to marry the man chosen
for her by her family. During the year the AIHRC recorded 213 cases of forced
marriages. There were 106 reported cases of self-immolation, several of which
were women protesting a forced marriage. Exchanging or selling women or
girls remained a customary method of resolving disputes or satisfying debts,
even though it was outlawed by presidential decree. For example, according to
the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), Rosina,
18, was sold into marriage by her father to a man in his fifties. When she
refused she was beaten. During the year the AIHRC recorded
41 cases of women being given to another family to settle disputes; however,
the AIHRC believes the number of actual cases to be much higher. In the early
part of the year, there was a very high-profile case involving a 13-year-old who
was engaged to the son of an influential politician in Badakhshan
province. She refused to marry the man and was threatened with stoning by
residents of her village. The case eventually went to the Supreme Court;
however, quiet negotiations involving local and central government led the
case to be dropped and mediated informally. The girl did not have to marry
the politician's son. Honor killings also continued to
be a problem. The AIHRC documented a total of 50 cases throughout the year.
During the year the AIHRC reported a case in which a girl was raped by her
brother. A resulting pregnancy forced the girl to reveal the incident to her
parents. In order to save the family's reputation the parents set the girl on
fire. She died three days later. At year's end authorities had not
investigated this case. There were no further developments in the December
2005 case of an honor killing in the Watapour
District of Konar Province. Human Rights Reports » 2005
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61704.htm [accessed 18 January 2011] TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS – The law does not prohibit
trafficking in persons; however, traffickers could be prosecuted under other
laws. The country was a source and transit point for trafficked persons. A
2003 IOM report noted qualitative and anecdotal evidence of increased trafficking
in girls and children to There were continued reports of
poor families promising young girls in marriage to satisfy family debts.
There were a number of reports that children, particularly from the south and
southeast, were trafficked to UN Integrated Regional
Information Networks IRIN, www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73300 [accessed 18 January 2011] According to Paktiawal,
among trafficking victims were tens of Afghan children, boys and girls, who
had been taken to neighbouring countries for forced
servitude, sexual exploitation and other illegal purposes. Inside Human trafficking in World War 4 Report, November 18,
2006 [accessed 18 January 2011] Also it is reported that selling
of women has become very common in Faryab province
in north of Opium Trade in Lisa Schlein
Report, Voice of At one time this article had been archived and may
possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 3 September 2011] The IOM says children are
trafficked within the country to work as beggars or as bonded labor in the
brick kiln and carpet making industries. It says women and girls are
kidnapped or sold for forced marriages. They are pushed into prostitution and
sometimes used to settle debts or to resolve conflicts. Internationally, IOM says Afghan women and
girls are being trafficked primarily to Afghan carpet weavers are unpaid slaves, rights activist
says Syrian Arab News Agency [accessed 18 January 2011] Love Afghan Style: Women Are Still Being Used As Currency In The Marriage
Market Parwin Mohmand,
The Women’s Reporting & Dialogue Programme,
Institute for War & Peace Reporting, WPR Issue 2, Kabul, 17 Nov 2005 iwpr.net/report-news/love-afghan-style [accessed 18 January 2011] Zakira was given away in marriage to
stop a blood feud. Her uncle had murdered a man and, rather than start a
round of revenge killings between the families, 20-year-old Zakira was bestowed on the murdered man's brother who
happened to be three times her age.
Forced marriages have long been a custom in Out Of Money? Sell Your Daughter Haytullah Gaheez,
Jewish World Review, February 16, 2005 www.jewishworldreview.com/0205/selling_daughters.php3?printer_friendly [accessed 18 January 2011] Zeva's eyes filled with tears as the
10-year-old's father took her by the arm and handed her over to the man from
whom he had borrowed 50,000 afghanis, or about
$1,000. "I cannot pay you in any
other way. Take my daughter," said Gul Miran, 42, a farmer in Nangarhar
province. Like many other farmers in "I accepted the girl in return for my loan,"
said Haji Naqibullah, who
had advanced Gul Miran
the money. "We had an agreement. He would (pay me back) regardless of
whether his crops were wiped out by the weather or by the government. "In a year or 18 months I will marry her off to my
youngest son," he said. "He is 19 years old and has been married to
his first wife for two years but has not had a child yet." Freedom Or Theocracy?: Constitutionalism in www.law.northwestern.edu/journals/jihr/v3/4/ [accessed 18 January 2011] ¶ 69 The authorities in New rights, but Afghan women still may face forced marriages New York Times, www.nytimes.com/2005/03/14/world/asia/14iht-afghan.html?_r=2 [accessed 18 January 2011] Fourteen year-old Bibi has never seen the father who wants to sell her into
marriage with a stranger. She hid when
he sent police to her village home in northern A Shared Suffering Anara Tabyshalieva
- The Women’s Reporting & Dialogue Programme,
Institute for War & Peace Reporting, WPR Issue 1, November 17, 2005 iwpr.net/report-news/shared-suffering-0 [accessed 18 January 2011] The custom of bride kidnapping
still ruins the life of both women and men in Watchlist Country
Reports | Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict www.watchlist.org/reports/files/afghanistan.report.php [accessed 18 January 2011] TRAFFICKING AND EXPLOITATION - Female trafficking for sexual
purposes is a thriving business in Freedom House Country Report - Political Rights: 5 Civil Liberties:
6 Status: Not Free 2009 Edition www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=363&year=2009&country=7550 [accessed 18 January 2011] Human Rights Overview by Human Rights Watch – Defending
Human Rights Worldwide [accessed 18 January 2011] We will have our say Duncan Campbell, The Guardian, www.guardian.co.uk/world/2004/jul/16/afghanistan.duncancampbell [accessed 18 January 2011] "But civil rights for
women?" she says. "Light years off." The major problems for
women remain a lack of opportunity and fear for their personal safety at
home, says Le Duc. She points out that the
mistreatment of women flourished under the mujahideen.
Now, she says, women who work can
still be dismissed by men as "whores". "Women say that men
don't know how to behave towards them," says Le Duc.
"Not a week goes by without a report of a gang rape by a warlord, or a
woman beaten almost to death by her husband. Women are still valued for their
reproductive rather than their productive role." 2,000 former Afghan child soldiers to be demobilized and
rehabilitated UNICEF Press Centre, www.unicef.org/media/media_19165.html [accessed 18 January 2011] UNICEF estimates that there a
total of 8,000 former child soldiers in Free the Refugees Joy Goodsell, Refugee Advocate
& Sandy McCutcheon, Presenter, Radio National - Perspective, 22
March 2004 www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/perspective/stories/s1071166.htm [accessed 18 January 2011] The family I stayed with showed me
how they all huddled in a corner, praying that they would be spared, during three
months of rocket attacks. Rape, abduction of women and children, kidnappings
and home invasions or forced land acquisitions are still commonplace. Women choose death over marriage James Astill in At one time this article had been archived and may
possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 3 September 2011] "Every minute of every day,
she was fetching water, growing crops, looking after animals and children,
cleaning the house. She was patient, but it was too much for her: she was
educated and sensitive. She found it hard to live like a slave." She was not alone in her
suffering, nor in the agonising way she chose to die. Anecdotal evidence suggests several
hundred young women are burning themselves to death in western A government mission sent to
investigate the problem in Forced marriages contributing to women suicides in
Afghanistan Reuters, www.afghanmania.com/en/news/0,news,3488,00.php [accessed 18 January 2011] Forced marriages and a lack of
education were contributing to a recent spate of suicide attempts among women
in “Among the rest there could be
more suicides but you know, according to Afghan tradition, people are not
ready to talk about suicide, it is taboo and they try to hide it.” She said
neither the police nor a government delegation sent to Jeffrey Donovan, Radio Free Europe – Radio www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_27-2-2004_pg4_21 [accessed 1 September 2011] "A great deal is better for
the Afghan woman. She can go outside without the Taliban in tow, but she's
harassed by a lot of armed men. She can go if she wants a job, but there are
not jobs available for her to do. She wants to be healthy, but there's not a
health care system there. The worst part is that she does not have the right
to choose who she wants to marry," Shorish-Shamley
said. The issue of forced Afghan
marriages is making headlines in the Western press. Several newspapers and
broadcasters have recently carried stories about a recent string of
self-immolations by Afghan women in despair over forced marriages, domestic
violence and a lack of respect for their rights. Forced Marriages, Beatings, Suicides Persist Despite
Taliban's Fall Anna Badkhen, San Francisco
Chronicle, April 16, 2004 www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0416-07.htm [accessed 18 January 2011] For four months, the 21-year-old
civil liberties activist has been teaching 120 local women and girls to read,
write, take care of their health and not be afraid to stand up for their
rights. But two months ago, her work at the They made clear to her that
because she is an Afghan woman, she has no rights. In February, Ghazal's
parents informed her that they had engaged her to marry her cousin, Rafi, 28, an unemployed carpenter in the tiny Campaign under way to raise awareness of child trafficking UN Integrated Regional Information Networks IRIN, www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=23128 [accessed 1 September 2011] According to the Afghan
Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), human trafficking - particularly
child kidnapping and abduction - were identified as one of the most serious
rights violations in recent months in AIHRC said that although exact
figures were hard to come by, in the last five months of 2003 over 300
complaints had been received from the families of children who had
disappeared. "The commission is aware that many children are flown to
Gulf countries, in particular Still an important source for human trafficking - IOM
report UN Integrated Regional Information Networks IRIN, www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=22827 [accessed 3 September 2011] A new report by the International
Organization for Migration (IOM) argues that IOM said it had learnt that there
were many forms of trafficking practiced in Post-Taleban, post-war - justice for women in Amnesty International, October 6 2003 At one time this article had been archived and may
possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 3 September 2011] Two years after the beginning of
the military action against the Taleban, the women
of Afghanistan are still subject to horrific abuses, from honour
killings to forced and underage marriage, virginity testing, and prosecution
and imprisonment for adultery, said Amnesty International in a major new
report published today (6 October 2003). 'No one listens to us and no one
treats us as human beings: Afghanistan - Justice denied to women is based on
interviews with women in many parts of Afghanistan and finds that the
day-to-day lives of many Afghan women are little changed from the oppression
they endured under the Taleban. Afghan Women Fight for Citizenship Jodi Enda, Women's eNews, At one time this article had been archived and may
possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 3 September 2011] FEW GUARANTEES FOR WOMEN - Afghan women who attended the
September conference "felt that because of the recent history of abuses,
it was very important to very specifically list rights of women. That really
hasn't happened in this document," Sultan said. "It doesn't outlaw
discrimination based on gender. It doesn't talk about the rights of
inheritance and property. It doesn't address the exchange of women in terms
of disputes between families." Although members of a
constitutional commission reviewed a women's bill of rights composed at the Millions Suffer in Sex Slavery United Press International UPI, Chicago, April 24, 2001 archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2001/4/23/184354.shtml [accessed 18 January 2011] AMONG THE OTHER FINDINGS: ·
Afghani women are sold into prostitution in All material used herein
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Cite this webpage as: Patt, Prof. Martin, "Human Trafficking
& Modern-day Slavery - |
Human Trafficking in [Afghanistan Street Children in [Afghanistan] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Afghanistan] [other countries]