Afghanistan Works to Pass Elimination of Violence Against Women Act

Imagine a part of the world where you aren't really allowed to go to school, just because you are a girl.

Imagine a part of the world where you were once thought of as sub-human by the government, just because you are a woman.

Imagine that because you are a woman, you are banished from the workforce, you are prohibited from leaving your house without a close male relative,  you are prohibited from being examined by male physicians while at the same time female doctors and nurses are prohibited from working.

Imagine a part of the world where you must paint any publicly visible windows of your home black and wear a burqa which leaves only a small mesh covering through which to see.

That part of the world is known as Afghanistan. But today, according to a story from the Associated Press, the country that is most known for repressing women's rights, may be making one small step toward some sense of equality:

Afghanistan is poised to enact legislation to allow women to prosecute abusive husbands, slowly pushing women's rights forward in the socially conservative country. The Elimination of Violence Against Women Act is expected to pass Parliament, but has been watered down along the way.

While this new law will still allow a husband to withhold financial support from his wife if she refuses to have sex with him and limits women's ability to leave the home - it does give women in Afghanistan a little more hope for a better tomorrow. And sometimes, hope, is the best place to start.