By Raihana Faqiri
License: CC BY 4.0
Mina 30 years old came to the counselling room in the Department of Counseling of Psychology and Educational Science Faculty at Kabul University because she often had angry outbursts and would shout at her children. Afterwards, she would regret it. She complained of always feeling angry and being unable to control herself. It was obvious that she was distressed. Her hands were shaking, her voice also shook when speaking and sometimes, it looked like she was gasping for air while speaking. She stated that she was always angry and behaved badly with the children, sometimes beating them, and afterwards she felt guilty, regretting her behaviour and crying. Mina lives with her husband, four daughters, father-in-law and mother-in-law. When I asked her what she thought was the cause of her irritability, she told me that she liked to study. She had been studying before she married, but her mother-in-law had wanted her to stop studying and remain at home tending to household chores. One night, just before she had an important exam, she had even been slapped on her hands by her mother-in-law. Her hands had become stiff and she cried a lot. Despite that, she sat for the exam and passed, be it with lower marks than she had hoped. Despite all the problems, she completed university and wanted to start working as a teacher. However, her mother-in-law prohibited her from getting the job for which she had studied for several years. Mina’s husband was initially happy with the fact that his wife was going to work, but he changed his mind and agreed with his mother.
Keywords: Afghanistan, anger, counselling
