November 25th is the international day of elimination of violence against women which is celebrated in Afghanistan every year. Women and Children Legal Research Foundation, working partner of HBS Afghanistan as a legal and research entity, following its previous press releases, once again express its concerns on the legal situation of women taking into account the researches undertaken recently. The Foundation calls on relevant government institutions, international organizations, and Afghan public to pay attention to the followings:
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At least 46.9 percent of women have been facing physical violence within their families. Out of this, 12.5% of women facing physical violence resulting in their broken limbs, 6.6% of them have become permanently disabled, 22.2% of them have been wounded, and 58.7% of them have been bruised.
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7% of women have been beaten by their husbands because they have been unable to give birth to baby boys.
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66.2% of women have been facing with different types of verbal violence in their families. 41.7% of parents believe that having a girl child has no positive effect on their life and they are the source of grief.
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Out of total women who have economic- financial incomes, only 9.5% can decide independently how to expend their incomes.
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At least 59% of researched marriages are considered as forced marriages. Out of them, at least 30% of marriages have been as Badal or” exchange” marriages. In addition to that, in more than 70% cases, women have been deprived of their right of dower ’Mahr’.
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At least 38% of women have been married in the age between 11 and 15 years.
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88% of women have been living under the conditions of polygamy. They talk about the injustice of their husbands for paying their alimony, paying attention to their children and other cases.
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In 40.6% of researched cases, girls have been kept of going to schools. Out of this, 29.4% of them mentioned weak economy of their families as a reason for not sending them to school.
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71.9% of women have not been able to study and work after their marriage.
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31.4% of women use narcotics for their treatment in the absence of health centers, poverty and lack of medicine and doctors, and prevention of families from going to doctors.
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23.6% of women mention doing heavy chores such as fetching water from springs and brining wood from mountains as a main reason for their abortion.11.4% of women mention beating as the reason for the abortion, and 37% of women consider lack of access to treatment as a reason for abortion.
Based on the above-mentioned findings representing widespread violation of women’s rights, Women and Children Legal Research Foundation calls on Afghan government to, based on its national and international commitments and obligations, design urgent and specific programs for the implementation of Law of Elimination of Violence against Women so that violence against women will be prevented with its implementation.
The above findings have been extracted from the researches undertaken in 2009 and 2010 by Women and Children Legal Research Foundation (WCLRF) and Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC).
Women and Children Legal Research Foundation
Email: wclrf@yahoo.com
Download press release in Dari (PDF, 2 pages, 254Kb)
Download press release in Pashto (PDF, 2 pages, 297Kb)
