Surviving abuse: Afghan woman fears for safety after US denies asylum

(Web Desk) – Shakila Zareen, a survivor of a child marriage and domestic violence, applied for an asylum in US after she fled to India from Afghanistan. Initially her application was approved after her husband shot her in the face, but later the request for asylum was opposed under Donald Trump’s new US migration policies.

According to The Guardian, Zareen was only 16 when she learned that her husband was planning to kill her. She fled to her mother’s house. On the same day, she was alone in the living room when her husband and two other men barged into her home. Zareen saw her husband pointing a hunting gun at her and pulled the trigger.

She woke up the next morning in a hospital after remarkably surviving the shooting. She tried tracing her face over the bandages and realised half of it was missing.

Shakila shows a picture of herself before she was shot by her husband. Photo: The Gurdian

The incident took place in later half of 2012, as the young girl’s life was shattered. Indian government flew her to Delhi where UN granted her a refugee status and referred to her resettlement to the US. Zareen received nine reconstructive surgeries which were paid by the Indian government over the period of three years.

Zareen, who is now 21, received a conditional approval from the US government in 2016 for her asylum application. She was hopeful and wanted to rebuild her life far away from Afghanistan and her abusive husband.

But after one year, on June 23, Zareen was notified by the US Citizen and Immigration Services that she was ineligible for resettlement. The letter stated that it was “a matter of discretion for security-related reasons.”

“I couldn’t believe it. I cried all the way home. Everybody in the street stared at me. The message made me so sick I had to go to hospital,” Zareen said.

The long battle of giving rights to the Afghan women has been the central pillar of US and its allies after Afghanistan was invaded from the Taliban regime in 2001. But, cases like Zareen’s indicate that the country has failed to progress by giving women legal justice and protection. The legality and justice only exists on paper but never executed in practice.

Shakila looking at her mother while talking, at her apartment in New Delhi . Photo: The Gurdian

“The government has not been able to provide safe environments for women, not in the home, in the street or at work,” said Fawzia Koofi, an Afghan lawmaker.

Zareen’s asylum request was not approved after the introduction of strict immigration policies under Donald Trump – but she would have faced the same fate of rejected in previous governments too. It is rarely disclosed if the case is denied on the basis of “security –related” reasons.

“Since this administration got into office, it has completely slowed down – if not stopped – any progress in cases with Afghans trying to gain asylum in the US,” said Kimberley Motley, an American attorney working in Afghanistan.

Koofi said: “There needs to be a balance between military and civilian efforts. I don’t think women’s rights are a priority for our international friends anymore.”

Zareen was forced by her brother-in-law to marry one of his friend who was 14 years her senior. She and her family were powerless to stop the wedding. Her father was bedridden and died two weeks after the ceremony.

Zareen’s mother, Shirin said, “He couldn’t protect us.”

 Shakila putting on makeup before heading to school. Photo: The Gurdian

Zareen recalls that her husband began to abuse her from their wedding night. Due to her brother-in-law and her husband’s strong ties with influential and powerful people in the government and Taliban, Zareen and her family couldn’t do much to stop the abuse.

Paradoxically, Zareen’s asylum application might have been refused due to the men’s ties with the Taliban. Refugee officials said even tenuous connections with people labeled as insurgents can cause refusals of asylum requests, even if the insurgents are the very people the refugee is fleeing from.

Despite her pleas and attempts to seek help from the local police Zareen faced more turmoil after her husband and brother-in-law were informed about her visit to the police. Zareen’s sister tipped her off to flee because her life was in danger. Hours later, the young girl was shot in the face.

Zareen’s brother-in-law denied all the allegations and claimed that she had shot herself.

Following the shooting Zareen’s husband was held in jail for 10 months, but later he was released.

According to Motley, Afghanistan’s criminal courts often impose low penalties for crimes against women, the accusers are charged with battery if it’s a crime of attempted murder.

Zareen now residing in India alongside with her mother says the asylum rejection has left her bereft and unsafe.

“It’s very easy for them to come to India,” she said of her tormentors. “They threatened me that India is only a step away, and that they can find and kill me any time.”

Zareen’s brother-in-law calls her and her mother in India, threatening to kill them and her brother living in Afghanistan.