“A lot of people argue that sexual harassment is widespread in Afghanistan because men don’t have a way to release themselves sexually, but sexual harassment is a global problem,” she said. “You cannot argue that in the US, men don’t have a way to release themselves sexually.”
“It’s about ownership of women’s bodies. If a woman goes into a public space, her body is automatically seen as public property,” said Akbar, who also founded Free Women Writers, a blog for young Afghan writers where harassment is a consistent theme.
