Parween is 40 years old and lives in the Share Naw area in Kabul where she works by cleaning people’s houses.

Kabul— I work as a cleaner and when I don’t have a cleaning job, I stay at home with my children. We are sometimes hungry. We have eight children to feed. My eldest son is married. One son is engaged, but I don’t have money to pay a dowry for a wife. My two daughters are married.

I was very young when I got married and at that time my husband oppressed me. My mother-in-law and father-in-law were nice people, but my husband had violent behavior with me. Now he has become kind. But we have a lot of financial problems. It has been two months since I paid our rent.

My husband helps his family financially as much as he can. One of my sisters-in-law lost her husband, so she then was married to her brother-in-law. She had two children, one daughter and a son who was killed.

My husband’s nephew was also killed and he left three children with no father. We try to help and support each other.

I don’t know what my rights are or where to go to obtain that information. No one told me about that. I expect human rights will give the poor people their rights.

Human rights provide all the opportunities to men. Most women do not have jobs. No one cares about this.

I don’t want to fight for rights because my life has passed. I don’t have the ability to fight. I am too old now, but I want my children to struggle and obtain their rights. I want them to be educated.

By Parween as told to Humira

Photo: Canada in Afghanistan/Zakarya Gulistani