AGO records 1,173 Cases of violence against women

The Attorney General Office of Afghanistan (AGO) has recorded 1,173 cases of violence against women in the past six months.

The most common types of these violence cases include rape, beatings, harassment, forced marriage, obstruction of the right to marry, premature marriage, the prohibition of inheritance, and the prohibition of possession of the property.

The AGO said that 249 cases of beatings have been filed during the Coronavirus quarantine.

“During quarantine, men’s impatience could increase and we knew that violence would rise too; therefore, all our prosecutor’s office were open to the people and we had recorded 249 cases of beatings during quarantine throughout Afghanistan,” Sina Sheina Mansour, Deputy Attorney General for Violence against Women said.

According to the AGO, the figures include 541 cases of beatings, 141 cases of harassment, 121 cases of rapes and the rest were other acts of violence.

Meanwhile, Kabul witnessed 339 cases of violence, Herat recorded 94 cases, Daikundi reported 67 cases, Takhar registered 66 cases, Nangarhar saw 63 cases, Balkh witnessed 57 cases and the rest were reported in Faryab, Baghlan, Badakhshan and other provinces.

On the other hand, the Independent Human Rights Commission (IHRC) has recorded 754 cases of violence against women as well, most of them were registered in February by 215 cases.

“Domestic violence, forced marriages, not allowing a girl to marry by her family, absence of women’s husband and being hostage of destiny are the most key factors,” said Zabihullah Farhang, head of public relations for the IHRC.

Women’s rights defenders underline that the government should seriously investigate the cases of violence against women and culprits must be brought to justice.

Illiteracy, poverty, lack of religious knowledge, and bad traditions have been cited as the reasons for violence against women.