For years women have been victims in Afghan society. Abused and tyrannised by male-headed households, their voices were never heard.The silence was broken with the emergence of an independent media in the years after 2001.
For years women have been victims in Afghan society. Abused and tyrannised by male-headed households, their voices were never heard.The silence was broken with the emergence of an independent media in the years after 2001.Madina Rezaei has been witness to the violence women suffer. “Most times women think that to object to the violence in public is to disgrace themselves, and not disgrace the men in the house or the community,” she believes. This is because they are socialised to accept patriarchy, she feels. “Under patriarchy no one dare tells the men, ‘there is eyebrow over your eyes’. They hold women responsible for male crimes, and disgrace women,” she explains.
Maisam Bayat, a student of social sciences at Kabul University, says she knows a woman who was sexually exploited by a man and then accepted his proposal of marriage without any conditions. Has it been a happy marriage? “Her life has passed with numerous problems,” she replies. In a society that blames women for rape the victims are often married off to their abusers who walk away free.
The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) has reported an increase in violence against women in the first four months of the year as compared to the same period last year.
Latifa Sultani, the coordinator of women’s rights in AIHRC, said most of the cases were of so-called honour killings and sexual assaults. “The commission recorded 700 instances of violence against women within first four months of 2013. This is an estimated increase of 25 to 30 percent,” she said.
According to her, a review of the 243 cases of “honour” killings showed 143 cases were of girls less than 18 years. As many as 90 cases were of forced marriages, and more than half the victims were under age. The legal age of marriage for Afghan women is 16 years.
Low conviction
Sexual abuse is rampant. Defenceless children and women are the most likely victims. The situation has become worse with conflict and war.
Six men assaulted a schoolgirl in grade 11 in Kohmard district, Bamyan province. The assault was filmed, and the pictures were circulated. The girl was attacked when she was on her way home from gathering firewood in the nearby forest.
A police officer in Kohmard district said three of the six assaulters were under age (below 18 years), and they have been sent to attorney general (AG’s) office for children while the rest have been sent to the AG for adults.
Mohammad Hashem, the AG of Kohmard, said the accused would be punished if the charges stood up to medical scrutiny. Meanwhile, the publishing of video clips of the assault has become a nightmare for the girl. There are also reports the arrested men are linked to police officers, making the situation worse for the girl’s family.
The father has said the most stringent punishment should be handed over to the accused to deter others from similar crimes. AG Hashem has said the accused if convicted would not be given the death sentence but imprisoned for between 15 and 17 years.
Another tragic incident is the death of a two-year-old girl in Herat who was sexually assaulted by a 22-year-old man. The governor of Obeh district, Esmatullah Danishyar, said the man was arrested with the help of local people. The case has come up in court.
At the same time Human Rights Watch in a report states the government is slow to investigate dossiers of assault on children, preferring to send them to juvenile homes. Victimised children are doubly assaulted when they are sent to homes like this, according to Human Rights Watch.
Speaking up
The wife of a shepherd in Ashyar, 80 km northwest of Cheghcheran City in Ghor province was sexually assaulted. Governor of Ghor Anwar Rahmatisaid there were some 6,500 armed men active in the province. Even 45 days after the assault the police were unable to arrest the four men believed to be involved.
“The area is insecure, and whenever we plan to arrest the men, we face felonious attacks, and have not been able to arrest the accused individuals,” the governor confided.
Again there were reports in the media that armed men were harassing the couple in Ashyar. Governor Rahmati said they are in secure detention.
A 25-year-old policewoman in Ghazni, and the only breadwinner in her house with six siblings, has requested the trial of her superior who harassed her sexually. She told the press she wants to continue working. “One police officer threatened to harass me if I did not voluntarily leave the force,” she said.
Hamida Gulistani, a member of Ghazni provincial council, said the policewoman was “touched” when she entered the room. She threw a small wireless set and glass at the man. The man retaliated by slapping her. The man had previously told the same policewoman to wash his clothes, said Gulistani. Women are a minority in the force.
Governor of Ghazni Musa Akbarzada said preliminary investigations have proved the veracity of the case.
The Ministry of Interior Affairs has said the guilty will be punished.
