Vocabulary 2

20. Read the following article and guess the meaning of the words and word combinations given in bold type. Now, the Hard Part

Afghan women have come up a long way since the days of the Taliban. But the rights they’ve won are more fragile than ever.

Pudgy and pale-skinned, Fahima, 22, sits forlornly in a damp concrete-walled cell in the Kabul Women’s Prison. She has been imprisoned for three months. She is entitled to a lawyer, but one hasn’t been appointed for her. That’s not surprising in a country where laws are ill defined and haphazardly enforced.

Seven years ago Fahima’s husband dissolved their marriage by saying “I divorce you” three times – then threw her out of their house in the Panjshir Valley. That is a legally binding form of divorce under Sharia, or Islamic law. Fahima, then 15, was left with little financial support and so moved in with her uncle. Two years ago he arranged a second marriage in Kandahar, a union that entitled him to a sizable dowry. Then came more trouble. Four months ago Fahima’s first husband showed up and demanded 200 million afghanis (about $4,350) from his former wife. If he didn’t get it, he warned, he would declare that he had never divorced her. She couldn’t come up with the money, and now could face 20 years in prison for adultery. “I’m innocent. I haven’t done anything wrong,” she says.

Fahima’s story wouldn’t have been surprising under the Taliban regime, when women were regularly beaten for dressing improperly and jailed for the slightest act of impropriety. But she was thrown in jail after the Taliban were driven out of Kabul. Afghan women have made substantial progress since then: they can work and girls can attend school. Yet behind these images of liberation, many Afghan women continue to suffer harsh treatment, especially in areas outside Kabul where conservative attitudes persist. This is worrying human-rights activists at a time when Afghanistan is beginning to debate new law. “Women’s rights are being neglected again, particularly in rural areas,” says Amena Afzali, head of women’s rights office at the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission. “There is a lot of cruelty toward women, and they are generally treated like slaves.”

Human-rights activists say two things are needed to boost the stature of women and then cement those gains. The first is a new constitution that is unambiguous about women’s rights. “There should be no room for personal interpretation,” says Afzali. Second, women must get educated so that they are aware of, and can protect, the rights they have. Fahima, for example, had no idea that she was entitled to a lawyer. Mary Nabardain, publisher of the feminist weekly Seerat, says that Western organizations can play a significant role in championing women’s rights, but heretofore have been focused on symbols like the burqa. “We are an Islamic country, and women are used to wearing the burqa,” says Nabardain. “If foreign organizations want to pull Afghan women from darkness to light, they should help with education programs.” Only that might keep women like Fahima out of jail.

(From ‘Newsweek’)

Remember the following words: To be entitled to smth, to be legally binding, to suffer harsh treatment, (un)ambiguous.

Expressions with ‘come’.

The Article says: “She couldn’t come up with money …”

Remember other expressions with “come”:

to come into smth, to come up against smth, to come up with smth.

Fit a suitable expression in the appropriate tense form into the sentences given below.

1. The government (столкнулось с) a lot of criticism over its economic policy recently.

2. The company was facing bankruptcy, but someone (подал идею) an idea for a new product which really swept the market.

3. Police (столкнулась с) a new problem in their fight against crime. They have found out that criminals have access to police computers.

4. That’s the third time this week the Harrods’ delivery van has been at Susan’s door! – I know. She must have (получила в наследство) a fortune.

5. Henry (вступил во владение) a large share of his father’s fortune.

6. So can we put the deal through? – I’m afraid not. I hope you can (предложить) a better plan than that.

Expressions with ‘keep’.

The article says: “Only that might keep women like Fahima out of jail.”

Remember other expressions with ‘keep’: to keep up appearances, to keep one’s hands off smth, to keep smb at arm’s length, to keep something to oneself, to keep one’s eyes open, to keep on the right side of the law, to keep smb in the dark, to keep within bounds, in keeping with smth.

Choose the appropriate expression to translate the word combinations given in italics in the following sentences.

1. For a first offence the courts will punish less severely someone who formerly (не преступал закон).

2. Big business organizations should (не трогать) successful small firms.

3. Taxpayers don’t like (чтобы их держали в неведении) about the government’s intentions.

4. The director keeps all the office workers (держит на расстоянии), and does not encourage anybody to be friendly.

5. I (держал при себе) my opinion for fear of offending my friends.

6. Any businessman has (быть бдительным) for a chance of making a profit.

7. When Father lost all his money, all that Mother could think of was (делать хорошую мину при плохой игре) in the town so that people shouldn’t know of the family’s shame.

8. (В соответствии с) the spirit of the occasion, let’s close the meeting with the national anthem.

9. Make sure that your spending (держались в рамках / не переходили границы), or we could be in trouble.