Ministry Shares New Report on Violence against Women

KABUL: (MEP) – The Ministry of Women Affairs (MoWA) reported on Saturday that 4,505 incidents of violence against women had been reported around the country so far this year.

Of this year’s cases of violence against women made known to authorities, which is thought to be not nearly the total amount of actual incidents, 54.5 percent were registered in Kabul, Herat, Takhar, Balkh and Kapisa provinces.

“Most of the violence against women cases came from Kabul with 21.8 percent, Herat with 14.9 percent, Takhar with 7.5 percent, Balkh with 5.2 percent and Kapisa with 4.8 percent,” Deputy Minister of Policy Saida Mezghan Mustafawi said.

According to a representative of the Attorney General’s Office, Qudseya Neyazi, most of the cases reported to authorities have already been brought to court and some of the offenders sent to prison.

MoWA, the Ministry of Interior Affairs, the Attorney General’s Office and the Supreme Court have prepared a report on the implementation of the Elimination of Violence against Women Law drawn from 32 of the 42 provinces of Afghanistan. Reportedly, security issues prevented officials from gathering adequate data in Nuristan and Paktika provinces.

“The worst cases in comparison to last year were the cases where women’s noses and ears were cut off,” Mustafawi said. “We did not have cases similar to Ms. Shakeel or Ms. Setara’s cases.”

2013 saw rates of violence against women jump in a surprising reversal of the general progress that has been made on the issue since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001.

Physical abuse, forced marriages and murder are the most common types of cases documented around the country, according to MoWa officials.

Last month, Afghan and foreign women’s rights activists raised concerns about a potential law being passed through Parliament that would have forbidden family members from testifying against each other in court. The activists said the law would make it near impossible for suspects in domestic violence cases to be convicted.

President Hamid Karzai received praise when he stepped in and pressured representatives to change the law in light of the concerns.