The Afghan Diplomat Who Hit His Wife

The Afghan Diplomat Who Hit His Wife

This picture circulated in social media in Afghanistan

On July 23 a report said Mohammad Yama Aini, a counselor to the Afghan Mission in UN, beat his wife so severely that she ended up in hospital in Flushing New York. Report said Mr. Aini was not charged because of his diplomatic immunity.  

The news spread all over social media in Afghanistan and became a hot topic among Afghans on internet. While women rights activists condemned this act, many refrained from discussing the issue further because Mr. Aini was said to be linked with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Salahuddin Rabbani who is also a member of Jamiat-e-Islami party. Others chose to say that those who talk about this incident of domestic violence are actually doing it because of Mr. Aini’s political affiliations to Mr. Rabbani. Others tried to shove the issue under a rug by saying: this is their personal matter. 

Amid the conspiracy theories, some Afghans chose to slut-shame Mr. Aini’s wife, Mezhgan Aini. Some women said she spread ruswayi, which means revealing secrets of one’s family.  Others accused her of cheating or marrying Mr. Aini for his money and power because how come she married a person, they wrote, who “…..is not handsome, nor well educated neither well mannered.” 

Many others called this act of Mr. Aini a black spot on the name of Afghanistan.