UN Official: Afghan Children Being Raped With "Impunity"

he young Afghan girl sits in the center of the room, weeping. Using her hand and her blue scarf to hide her face, she recounts how she was brutally raped by five gunmen.

The girl's tragic case is one of many in war-torn Afghanistan, activists say.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[mamacat]

One of our local Boy Scout of America troops raised over a thousand dollars for a stray dog in Afghanistan, while millions of orphans suffer in that country. The American soldier who asked for the money should be ashamed of himself.

[Redrover666]

Indeed, I'm sure you feel all American soldiers ought to be ashamed.

[Irons]

These men are pigs, the lowest of the low. Their flag or their religion is just a prop for their criminality.

[LiamR]

Yet one more consequence of our bungled foreign policy and twisted priorities. Without the Iraq albatross and diversion the United States and its allies could have established order and security in this country. It is no wonder that the Taliban are making a comeback - some probably see the strict fundamentalism of the Taliban as preferable to the chaos and incompetency of leadership that they suffer under now.

[AzRealProgressive]

The Taliban as preferable? Where did you find that little nugget? Nearly no one wants the Taliban back in power. They were the most vicious bunch someone in that area could conceive. They are not making a comeback. Foreign fighters are nearly all of the ones doing the fighting now. You are too ignorant to determine that for yourself. You need help if you think the Taliban were the toast of the town in Afghaistan.

[insanityfollows]

When is the world going to collectively say "game over". This kind of crime cannot be justified by any type of belief system, religion or political system. It is offensive and destructive beyond words. The victim and all of humanity suffers when this kind of crime is not met with swift and harsh retribution. We like to think that we have become so "civilized". Just because we have air conditioning and can feed ourselves better doesn't mean that we (humans) are no longer barbaric. We should and do know better than to let this kind of behavior continue at all, anywhere, and we should hang our collective heads in shame.

[AzRealProgressive]

Sharia law rules there. And in Britain the highest legal authority in Britain says that Sharia law is compatible with British law. Women are property there, and little more. People here defend the Taliban and call America unjust to have invaded the country after 9/ 11. It will continue.

[Destin]

Unfortunately, so long as MEN choose to go to war with each other, they will invariably use rape as a weapon of war. It's been used that way ever since the first one.

[AzRealProgressive]

Wrong. Women are no more than property there. Rape is irrelevant ot hem and meaningless.

[mam]

So when is Laura Bush going to ride to the rescue? Remember when she said our invasion of Afghanistan was going to liberate Afghan women and free them from these horrors?

[CostaMesaJoe]

I hate the fact that we are in Iraq; but I have always supported the re-building of Afghanistan.
The treatment of women over there has been nothing short of despicable and ghoulish.
Reading stories such as, this makes me sick.
I pray one day the women their will be able to attend school and walk down the street without being in fear for their lives...

[sassafra]

i'm sorry, but there's something gone terribly wrong with a religion that on one hand can foster the kind of violence in fundamentalists that so abuses it's children and women, and then on the other hand, proves so inflexible and un-nurturing, as to virtually torment a family who has had such crimes committed upon it in the name of the religion that it drives them to the verge of suicide or madness.
the "religion of peace" indeed

[FdeBear]

This is not about Islam. This is about war social chaos, vicious criminals and the failure of a justice system to protect the most vulnerable. There isn't a religion on this planet that can claim exemption from this kind of atrocity. Evil has many faces. So don't use these horrible incidents to put a bead on Muslims and justify your own prejudice. Pray that these gangsters get what's coming to them and that these innocent MUSLIM children will find healing and peace. There are hundreds of American Muslims wearing our uniform and putting their lives on the line to help. Show some respect - if not for the criminals - then for these victims and those who are trying to render aid.

[AzRealProgressive]

Sharia law is Islam in this case. Women are little more than property. The Taliban banned women from anything other than staying around the house. Even school was forbidden.The people who comited these crimes were Muslims, and the people they stand for are Muslims and without four witnesses to this act, under Sharia law she is not a victim.

[sociocanuck]

Deflection - "it's all their fault".

That's just not good enough.

[bb922335]

Terrible...but what is the difference between this and D.C., Detroit, New York, LA, etc. etc. There is evil everywhere folks. As a father of 3 daughters, I am horrified by this, and the fact that it goes on in our own country.

[AzRealProgressive]

I must have missed the concept of Sharia law being introduced here in the US. I had no idea here in the US that it takes four witnesses to substantiate a story and of course honor killings of women have been rampant here for centuries.

[kas70]

These kinds of stories are why I have difficulty working with abused children in my line of work - the stories haunt me.

I would like to see more people challenge the law that requires impossible degrees of proof for a crime usually carried out in secret - it's set up to blame the victim. Too often you hear about honor killings where the victim pays the ultimate price for someone else's crime. I'm very encouraged by the father's and families in these stories and their unity and righteous anger on behalf of their children. It is so important to have that support and unconditional love as these girls (and boys) attempt to recover as best they can.

My thoughts, prayers, and hopes for change are with them and all victims of abuse.

[AzRealProgressive]

Nothing will change. It is a muslimm country.It has always been that way.

[S1m0n]

When the Taliban first came to power in Afghanistan, they were welcomed because they 'stopped the rapes' being committed by followers of the warlords of what's now called the northern alliance in southern Afghanistan.

[AzRealProgressive]

That is a very partial truth. Warlords did other more offensive things that brought on the Taliban.

[RusStyles]

Where the hell is MSNBC/CNN/Fox? Dog fighting = 24/7 coverage. Young girls getting gang-raped = 0 coverage. We are a sick society!

[FdeBear]

They're covering John Edward's love child and other highly significant matters.

[AzRealProgressive]

This stuff has been covered 50 times in the last 7 years at a minimum.

[sociocanuck]

It's not exactly zero coverage. Look where the original article is posted...

Not that it isn't still rather minimal.

[sonofdy1]

And these are the anamials some of you want to leave incharge of afganistan and would have left in charge of iraq if you had had your way.

[sisterdebmac]

Actually, no. You have that backward. The Northern Alliance and their warlords have been fighting with American troops against the Taliban. The Taliban cracked down on these guys hard and slowed this awful stuff down. Then we butted in and the warlords are now running amuck --- with our protection. Beautiful, huh?

[Succatash]

Jeesh!
Defending the Taliban as bringers of truth and justice?
Either choose getting raped or choose getting your head chopped off for having premarital sex. What a choice.
Where are the men with true honor and morals?
Sister, there are strange signals firing in your mind.

[sociocanuck]

No point in the correction. The opnion he expressed was based on the belief that "the Other" is all one and the same brand of foreign evildoer.

[kas70]

I agree that we should be all over countries with human rights violations, but we should call it that, not disguise it as part of the war on terror, a search for fictitious WMD's, and based on bogus "intelligence".

[FdeBear]

What gave you that idea? Is everybody in Afghanistan and Iraq a terrorist and child rapist? Did these atrocities suddenly stop once the U.S. "took" charge?

[S1m0n]

Dude, this is the northern alliance they're talking about. The former mujahadeen; the folks that the US hired to do the actual fighting against the Taliban. Remember them? They (Taliban) came to power the FIRST time because the northern alliance warlords & their men were committing too many rapes, and the Pashtuns decided top back the one group that seemed interested in establishing the rule of law. As you know, that was the Taliban. They stopped the rapes and they shut down the heroin--two things that neither NATO nor the Karzai government have been capable of doing since.

[AzRealProgressive]

Dude, dead wrong. These people are likely foreign fighters from somewhere else outside of Afghanistan. The mujahadeen we armed in 1979, are long gone, that was nearly 30 years ago. In Afghanistan that would put many of them well over 50, and the life expectancy is far less than 50. The taliban simply forbid women from doing anything.

[spiderbucket]

Savages.

[ABCD]

So are the catholic priests that rape our young American Boys right?

This type of stuff is worldwide. It is horrible but it is what it is. I know a 12 year old about to become a mother because she was raped by a "savage"

She wasn't on CNN....as a matter of fact none of the msm cared to get her story!

too depressing to deal with what's going on at home.

I will pray for the Aphgan people along with the Americans and the Africans. Wait I will make it simple and pray for all of us...Mankind that is!

[Dawud]

We have our own problem with sexual assaults in America. Imagine if we had no law and order in America and were in a state of anarchy as Afghanistan is outside of Kabul.

We'd have the same problem here.

We "liberated" them so that Afghanistan could be a safe haven for rapists and the world's number producer of heroin. Good job President Cheney and Vice President Bush!