My name is Patmeena Sabit. I'm a program assistant with Ms. Aref at the Afghan Women's Centre.
One of the things I wanted to clarify, just speaking to the issue of the illness. What I think Ms. Aref was saying was that women are given wrong information, for example, by their husbands or by individuals who go there. Once these brides or these women are brought here, they realize some of the information was incorrect or misleading, that it's actually the spouses themselves, for example, that may have certain physical or mental illnesses, or may have already been married, or have other families. So, I just wanted to clear that up.
Secondly, in terms of the provisional or the conditional sponsorship or the conditional residency that's provided here, I think what Ms. Aref wants to communicate is that it does really provide a further means of certain individuals taking advantage of the system.
For example, for women that are brought here without skills, without jobs, and where they are abused either verbally, emotionally, or physically, it becomes kind of a trial period where, for example, they might not be able to reach out for help because that hangs over them. This idea that within these two years, if you don't “behave”, then there is a possibility these sponsors, the people who sponsored them, can send them back.
It really does provide just a further means, one aspect of it, of people maybe further abusing the system. I think these women are very vulnerable already. It might provide a further means of vulnerability for them.