Deteriorate security situation causes rise in violence against Afghan women

Afghanistan minister of women’s affairs says that if the current security situation improves, we will witness a remarkable increase in violence against women and their exclusion from education.

Criticizing the paucity of women in the judicial system of the country, minister of women emphasized that the bad traditions and incorrect understanding of Islam are said to be the main cause of violence against women in the country.

“The deteriorate security situation will follow more stoning, rape, imprisonment of women and their exclusion,” said Delbar Nazari, minister of women.

The struggle to secure women’s rights in Afghanistan has been an embattled one. After years of faltering campaigns, the landmark Elimination of Violence against Women Act was passed in 2009 by presidential decree.

The unprecedented law criminalizes 22 offences, from forced prostitution to denying women their inheritance , prescribes punishments for offenders and outlines a number of state responsibilities.

Most significantly, Article 6 enshrines seven victims’ rights, including the right of prosecution, legal representation and compensation.

The increase in recorded attacks is in part the product of a welcome trend: the more women learn about their rights, the more they come forward to report attacks. But many are pessimistic about how long these small gains will last.

As the war in Afghanistan enters its fourteenth year, the concern is that hard-won rights for women will unravel after the departure of international soldiers and aid workers.

In Afghanistan, women are the most vulnerable segment of the society. For decades, they have suffered from violence, deprivation and misbehaviors stemmed from wars and the dominant conservative attitude towards them.

The decades of war and violence have played a major role in violation of women’s rights and limitation of their freedoms. In fact, the women have been direct victims of war and instability, and the most affected segment of the society during the past decades of wars. They have suffered from wars and subsequent displacements.

Today, there are women presenters in the media, women teachers at schools and universities and women lawmakers in the parliament.

This is a clear sign of what is going on in Afghan still-conservative society. The fact that millions of girls are going to universities is indicating that the country is changing, though not at a fast pace, but is moving in the right direction.

All the events and developments are indicative of change for the women and that the deeply conservative society is opening up for embracing new values and standards of life values for the women.