Afghanistan's Burned Brides A hospital tries to save women who've set themselves ablaze. And a prose

Last edited Mon Apr 30, 2012, 01:51 PM - Edit history (1)

http://www.motherjones.com/photoessays/2010/12/bashir-photos/20100921mariabashir1300dpijpg

This is a multi-page story of many of the horrors these women / girls have endured, many images are extremely graphic.

[Click here to read a related Mother Jones magazine article.]

The head nurse at Herat Regional Hospital's Burn Unit guesses that she's seen at least a thousand self-immolation cases since she started working here 13 years ago. Almost all of them are young women who've been beaten, starved, or forced into abusive marriages they can't leave without also abandoning their children. But not all women who douse themselves in kerosene and light a match succeed in killing themselves. Some of the survivors are featured in this slideshow, along with photos of the Herat burn unit and Afghan prosecutor Maria Bashir. Click here to read a profile of Bashir, a woman risking everything to bring Afghanistan's abusive husbands to justice.