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How a rape survivor could change Afghanistan

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How a rape survivor could change Afghanistan
An Afghan teenager was kidnapped, raped, tortured and chained to a wall for five days by a gang of powerful Afghan police officers. But she stood up to do what women in Afghanistan are told not to -- she is fighting back, and together we can help her and all Afghan women win justice.

According to deep cultural mandates, as a raped woman, this girl has been "dishonoured" and will kill herself -- and she publicly says she must, unless her rapists are brought to justice to restore her honour and dignity. Afghanistan's justice system routinely fails to pursue these cases and so far the chief suspects have not been prosecuted, likely in the hopes that international attention will die down. Every day that passes without an arrest pushes this girl closer to suicide -- but there is hope.

This weekend, the US, UK, Japan and other major donors are expected to pledge 4 billion dollars to Afghanistan -- money that will pay for the very police forces responsible for the rape. But an international outcry can shame donor countries into action, conditioning their aid on real action to fight rape and protect women. We don't have much time left. Sign the petition on the right for change that could save a girl's life and our petition will be delivered right into the donor conference in Tokyo.

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