According to UN report, most cases of violence against women in conflict-hit Afghanistan are not being probed.
Kabul, Dec 11/Nationalturk – The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in a report released Tuesday said most cases of violence against women are not being probed.
“Afghan authorities have achieved progress in implementing the Law on Elimination of Violence against Women (EVAM) to bring perpetrators of violence against women to justice. But application of the landmark law, continued to be hampered by dramatic under reporting and lack of investigations into most incidents of violence against women,” UNAMA report said.
UNAMA based its 42-page report titled “Still a Long Way to Go: Implementation of the Law on Elimination of Violence against Women in Afghanistan” on more than 200 consultations with judicial, police and Government officials and its observation of violence against women cases throughout Afghanistan over the 12-month period.
The report said although prosecutors and courts were increasingly applying the law in a growing number of reported incidents of violence against women, the overall use of the law remained low indicating there is still a long way to go before women and girls in Afghanistan are fully protected from violence through the law.
Enacted in August 2009, the Elimination of Violence against Women (EVAW) law criminalises child marriage, forced marriage, selling and buying women for the purpose or under the pretext of marriage, ba’ad (giving away a woman or girl to settle a dispute), forced self-immolation and 17 other acts of violence against women including rape and beating. It also specifies punishment for perpetrators.
“Progress in implementing the EVAW law can contribute to deterring harmful practices and violence against women in Afghanistan that have long prevented women from participating in public life and blocked their voices from being heard in decision-making and peace and reconciliation processes,” said Jan Kubis, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan and head of UNAMA.
Incidents of violence against women go largely under-reported
The report said the incidents of violence against women still remained largely under-reported due to cultural restraints, social norms and taboos, customary practices and religious beliefs, discrimination against women that leads to wider acceptance of violence against them, fear of social stigma and exclusion, and, at times threat to life. “Prevailing insecurity and weak rule of law have further hampered women’s access to formal justice institutions. Those incidents that reach law enforcement and judicial authorities or receive public attention due to their egregious nature represent the tip of the iceberg of incidents of violence against women throughout the country”.
The report revealed that rather than following required legal procedures in all cases, police and prosecutor’s offices continued to refer numerous cases including serious crimes of violence against women to jirgas and shuras for advice or resolution which often undermined implementation of the EVAW law and reinforced harmful practices.
“While advances in using the EVAW law are welcome, progress in addressing violence against women will be limited until the EVAW law is applied more widely,” said Georgette Gagnon, Director of UNAMA Human Rights. “Afghan authorities should take further steps to ensure that police and prosecutors register and investigate all reports of violence against women.”
UNAMA made 29 recommendations to Afghanistan government and its international partners urging them to ensure that promotion and protection of women’s rights are an integral part of peace and reconciliation efforts and the country’s political, economic and security strategies.
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Faiz Ahmad / NationalTurk Afghanistan News
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