Women’s groups are urging the government to deliver on promises to share power. Afghan women and girls are not safe in their own homes, new research has reiterated.
Zarqa Yaftali, executive manager of Women and Children Legal Foundation who released the new report, says in a family the female members are more at risk than relatives, neighbours and strangers. “Most girls have been sexually harassed by a male cousin, who may be an aunt or uncle’s son, or their father and even brother,” she says.
Researchers conducted many interviews including with victims of sexual harassment, lawyers and activists in Nangarhar, Kabul, Balkh and Kandahar to bust many myths about the protection of women by the state and deeply conservative society.
“We got shocking information about the behavior of judges. There were instances where victims who had approached the courts were told by judges that they were at fault,” says Shahrzad Akbar, the head of Open Society Afghanistan which funded the research. “Victims suffer many social and psychological problems, and are so alone that they don’t know how to demand their rights in cases,” she adds.
Figures speak
New figures from the Ministry of Women’s Affairs show reporting on the violence against women has improved. Muzhgan Mustafawi, the acting minister, says 4,405 incidents of violence against women were recorded in 2012, including 188 cases of sexual abuse. The overall figure rose by more than 1,000 to 5,604 cases the following year, although the number of cases of sexual violence decreased to 174. “This year (the Afghan year ends on Mar 31) there are more than 4,000 cases of violence and sexual abuse cases adds up to a total of 110. But the final tally will be announced only in April,” she says.
Women face sexual harassment, and all kinds of bestial practices including the cutting off of a nose or hand to teach them a lesson. They are also denied rights to participate in politics or cultural events.
An earlier study by the non-governmental Law and Democracy Organisation (LDO) had measured the extent of patriarchy in the country. All the 3,900 men who were interviewed for the study titled ‘Women from the viewpoint of men’ described women as either uncontrollable or defiant. The survey was conducted in Herat, Kabul, Bamyan, Balkh and Nangarhar. The majority of respondents said they did not give their women decision-making rights or power.
LDO head Khudaidad Basharat says this is the reason why men continue to dominate Afghan society. Even programmes designed with the aim of empowering women are made by men, he says. “After years of investment by international community, women are still on the margins. The government left the women in the margin for fear of (social) reaction,” Basharat says.
Nafeesa Rezayee, the head of women’s affairs in Parliament, also confirms the gender bias, and says women are abused in offices, government ministries and in their families. The problem is getting worse, and the government, Parliament, judiciary and civil society organisations should cooperate to empower women, she adds. “Unfortunately women are discriminated against even in politics. We have observed this even in Parliament,” she says.
Arzo Nuristani, an activist, says the government has repeatedly promised to give women a share in the government, but no concrete plans have been made. “Women’s political rights are just symbolic,” she says. “Even the new government is indifferent.” She urges women to speak up. “If women don’t react, they will remain where they are forever,” she feels.
Public protests
On Feb 23, some 200 women’s activists demonstrated in front of the Supreme Court against the government’s apathy on women’s issues. The problems women face will become worse if laws are not implemented, they said. Even the gains made by women over the last 13 years will be squandered, they warned.
Zahra Saqeb, one of the organisers, said the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) has recorded 4,250 cases of violence against women including incidents of forced marriage, beating, killing, sexual harassment and underage marriage but “powerful interests” have delayed investigations. “Investigations of the dossiers are facing several obstacles including from families who are doing their best to scuttle the probe. Powerful vested interests are also doing their best,” Saqeb said. “If women were given political power this would not have been the case,” she said at the demonstration.
Najiba Ayubi, managing director of DHSA (Development Humanitarian Assistance for Afghanistan which set up The Killid Group) and an activist, called on the Ashraf Ghani government to remove the problems women face in their quest for justice. “The government should prove it has a strong will to protect women’s rights by punishing the perpetrators of violence against women,” she said. The demonstrators issued a three-point statement on the strategy to eliminate violence against women: punish the guilty, weed out corruption in courts, and protect women’s rights.
Women’s groups have taken to turning the screws on the new government. On Feb 18, hundreds of women participated in a march in Bamyan urging the national unity government to take “decisive steps” to curb violence against women. They carried placards saying, “Stop sexual harassment”.
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