Pushtun Women

Much attention has been given to the plight of women, primarily among the Pashtuns,  where a strictly conservative culture has often denied them an education, access to proper health  care,  and  the  ability  to  go beyond the confines of their homes. There is no denying the injustices suffered by Pashtun women on both sides of the border, yet one cannot assume Pashtun women to be meek and downtrodden.  Like the men, many Pashtun women are proud and assertive.  Although the man plays a dominant role in Pashtun public spheres, women have a great amount of power in their homes, often controlling all aspects of domestic affairs.  The Pashtuns will never fully progress until women are integrated into the educational, political and economic spheres of society. There are promising winds of change in Afghanistan. People have become tired of their corrupt leaders and have elected women hoping they would be less corrupt. May Pashtun women discover their value as women created in the image of God, may they come to know the freedom and value afforded them through the person of Jesus Christ.

An issue of honor

By outward appearance the standard of morality is very high in Pashtun society. The Pashtuns are protective of the chastity of their women that they cannot tolerate the admiration of a woman’s beauty by a man who is not her close relative.  They consider such an admiration an insult to their sense of honor. To the Pashtuns, honor is valued above  all  else.  In  order  to  protect the reputation of the women and the honor of their family, strict codes are placed upon women and how they interact with men.  Women are required to wear a burqa, a full body covering, when they leave the home.  According to the

The life of Pashtun women varies drastically depending on location, education, and the father’s level of conservatism.  Some women in the urban settings work outside the home. More and more women in urban settings are given the opportunity to refuse a marriage proposal. Traditionally, the girl has no say whatsoever, and she will not see her husband until the wedding night.   Women in the village are usually married off between the ages of 13 and 16. Their primary sphere of influence is limited to the home.  For every woman, maintaining a  good reputation is a life long demand.  In Pashtun areas education, health care, employment, and women’s rights are improving very slowly

Pashtun code, it is indecent for a woman to speak to men who are not their relatives, to laugh loudly in public, she must not address her husband by name, and in many areas she is not even allowed to leave the home.  This, in the mind of the Pashtun, is done, not to oppress women, but to protect women from themselves as well as from predators.