Eighteen year old Bahara (name has been changed to protect her identity) was imprisoned in Afghanistan seven months ago after being forced to take a virginity test when she attempted to report her rape. Afghanistan outlawed the humiliating and degrading test back in 2016, however women across the country are continuously subjected to it and even jailed for so called “failing”. Women are frequently imprisoned for what have been classified as “moral crimes” which include a wide array of actions that are criminal in the eyes of Afghan culture. Some of these crimes include running away and having sex before marriage, which is often proved by the now illegal virginity test. However it is not just the virginity test that can incriminate young women for lack of purity. In Afghanistan it is widely believed that if a woman does not bleed upon her first time having sex then she was not previously a virgin. Of course this is not true, some women simply do not bleed on their first time, it varies depending on the individual. However because of this misconception many women are petrified for their wedding night because of the consequences of something completely out of their control. A bride who doesn’t ‘bleed’ is often given back to the father, seeing as the patriarchal society of Afghanistan demands that women must be under to ownership of a man. They are also divorced immediately and their name is tarnished, making it impossible to marry again. In some brutal cases, women who don’t ‘bleed’ are even killed. Outlawing the virginity test in 2016 was a massive step in the right direction, however the police force in Afghanistan ignore its legitimacy and continue to bring girls to clinics for testing when they suspect them of sexual interactions. However progress is being made. The NGO The Afghanistan Forensic Science Organization, has been working to change school curriculum in an attempt to shift national outlook on women and will hopefully discourage boys from commit sexual violence. Afghanistan is among many patriarchal states who’s governments punish women for adultery among other taboo actions, and though it is atrocious that their laws to protect women are not being enforced, it still provides hope to many that at least such laws are being passed.
