“It’s fine, he was just having a bad day”, she says as she wipes the blood from her mouth.

“He had a rough day at work, I should’ve been nicer today”, she gasps as her breath cuts short as she feels the bruises around her ribs.

“It’s okay, he works hard and wants to let off some steam”, she mumbles as she finally succumbs to her injuries, and loses consciousness.

This is not a fictitious narrative. For 38% of women on the globe, this is their horrific reality.

And the worst part is?

They accept it.

Domestic violence has been a haunting ghost for as long as stories go back in history, its insidious presence latching onto individuals’ weaknesses and anger, and disguising itself as a coping mechanism to the extent that, it is recognized, and not renounced.

Afghanistan has a disturbing dominant position, having a whopping 46% of women being exposed to domestic violence in the 12 months that have passed.

To put things into perspective, that means that 6.5 million women are victims of domestic violence on an annual basis.

544,000 each month.

18 women each day.

Even more ghastly is the fact that 85% of women in Afghanistan believe that this violence is driven by cause and can be justified. That it’s a normal part of being in a relationship with your spouse. That to have a life without it is something odd. It’s their fault, they didn’t have the food ready. It’s their fault they’re tired and can’t attend to their spouse’s needs.

Social intervention is a must in these cases. And Afghanistan is not a lone warrior in its battle as many unfortunately mirror its dire reality. A reality were women accept defeat. And that reality has to be made obsolete.