Violence against women continues in Afghanistan

According to the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), a UN-backed watchdog organization, violence against women and girls in Afghanistan is astonishingly prevalent today. Numerous reports of honor killings in the country have raised concern that, despite the fall of the Taliban whose brutal treatment of women relegated them to second class citizenship, the state has inadequately dealt with upholding women’s rights and equal status in society. In instances of so called honor killings, women and girls are murdered, often by a family member, such as their fathers, brothers, or uncles in order to preserve the family’s honor. Most cases include women who were murdered for refusing to enter into a forced marriage, escaping repeated harrying a situation at home, or committing adultery. A woman who has been accused of adultery without any material evidence against her and victims of rape are also often killed.

Political and judicial authorities rarely deal with the problem, and most cases of honor killings are go unreported. The perpetrators are seldom prosecuted.

Due to increased information flow to a growing media and changing attitudes among women, more cases are reported today. However, there is still a long way to go in strengthening the institutions to adequately prosecute and convict perpetrators and to uphold women’s human rights.

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