Handicap International experience in Afghanistan - CBM

The inability tobear children is amajor determinantfactor for socialconsideration andrespect withinthe family andthe community.As a result,when personsare considered tohave congenitalforms of disabilityor have mentaldisability, thisability is seriouslyquestionedwedding and thus demonstrate their capability to take charge of a family and gain status as the head ofhousehold. Women, on the other hand, are expected to bear a large number of children and to take care ofthe members of the family: children and elderly people. If any of these expectations are not met then theperson is not considered ‘marriageable’. A qualitative study carried out in 2004 by Altai Consulting clearlystates: “once a disabled person cannot fulfil (their assigned) role, his/her position in society changes. This isnoticeable in many ways: loss of respect within the family, loss of respect within the community, eventuallynot being able to marry, finally not being able to have offspring”. 41 The inability to bear children is a majordeterminant factor for social consideration and respect within the family and the community. As a result,when persons are considered to have congenital forms of disability or have mental disability, this ability isseriously questioned: the inability to marry and have children is a major exclusion mechanism. This is evenmore so in the case of women.Bearing in mind the importance of marriage, it is not surprising that the proportion of married persons isvery high and starts at a very early age. A large majority (56.4%) of Afghans over the age of 11 are married.Only 35.4% of this age group is still single, while the rest are widow(er), separated or divorced. The legalage to get married is of 16 for girls and 18 for boys. Nevertheless, some of them are already married beforethis age:• 2.9% of girls before 16 and 2.1% of boys before 18 years old are married;• 5.4% of girls before 16 and 3.8% of boys before 18 years old are engaged.Figure 47: Distribution of Afghans Above 11Years Old by Civil Status• Single• Married Monogamous• Married Polygamous• Engaged• Divorced, Separated• Widow(er)The situation is a bit different between persons with disability and non-disabled. The over-representationof persons with disability in age classes above the age of 45 explains why widows and widowers are overrepresentedamong persons with disability.Men with disability are more often married (61.5%) than non-disabled men (53.6%). This can be explainedby two main reasons. First, men are more often disabled by war-related causes and have physical disability.As a result they do have better social status and consideration within society. Second, a high proportionbecame disabled after marriage. The situation of women is not the same: women with disability are less oftenmarried (47.7%) than women without disability (59.4%).These trends do suggest that disability is seen as an impediment to taking charge of a family, for womenespecially. This belief is closely linked to the aspects that were explained above: a woman’s contribution lies inthe ability to bear children and look after other members of the household. Moreover, in case of sterility or ifno children have been conceived after a certain number of years, the man can take another wife. The stigmaof being barren is most often borne by the woman, and is often attributed to the fact of being disabled. “In41THAKKAR M., CERVEAU T., DAVIN E., (2004), op. cit. p. 2664 Understanding the Challenge Ahead