Jean MacKenzie is a senior correspondent for...
As violence against women in Afghanistan spikes to its highest levels since the fall of the Taliban government, the US has become an investor in the country's informal—tribal—justice system. In this 'Special Report,' GlobalPost tells the painful stories of women who have been subjected to the tribal courts' brand of 'justice': unfairly imprisoned, traded like property and often abused every step of the way.
Whether behind the bars and barbed wire of prison or in the hostile confines of a strange man's home, Afghan women often pay for crimes they didn't commit.
This slideshow accompanies a three-part GlobalPost Special Report titled "Life Sentence: Women and Justice in Afghanistan." Read Part One, Part Two or Part Three.
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/afghanistan/120306/life-sentence-women-serving-time-afghanistan