VOA News: Coronavirus lockdowns have impacted millions around the world in different ways; economically, mentally, and emotionally. In Herat, Afghanistan there are concerns about a possible rise in domestic violence. VOA’s Khalil Noorzai reports from Herat, Afghanistan.
Ariana: 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.
Al Jazeera: Khatera is determined to bring the father who raped her to justice even as family members threaten to kill her. “Every woman in this country has a hundred owners. It’s always been like that. Fathers, brothers, uncles, neighbours. They all believe they have the right to speak on our behalf and make decisions for
Institute for War & Peace Reporting (UK): Afghan officials have hit back at a UN report that criticised their government for allowing mediation to replace formal justice proceedings in cases of violence against women. Rights activists, however, argue that the study highlights key problems with the legal approach to gender abuse. Click here to read more
CBC: Shakila Zareen praises Canada for accepting her as a refugee after the U.S. turned its back – Zareen was 17 years old when she said her brother-in-law forced her to marry a man many years older. She said the abuse started on her wedding night and continued for months. “From right then and there, he began
Human Rights Watch: More than 8 out of 10 Afghan women and girls will suffer domestic and other violence in their lifetime. Before 2001, they had nowhere to run. These days there are some safe havens: the country’s tiny, but desperately important, network of women’s shelters. But these shelters are now under attack – and not for the
UNAMA: One in every three women around the world has experienced physical or sexual violence. Gender-based violence is a global issue, affecting millions each year, particularly the most vulnerable, including Afghan women and girls. It is now widely recognized that violence against women, including harassment and harmful practices, is major barrier to women and girls enjoying
Reuters: Fatima’s Taliban husband was so controlling that he refused to allow her to bathe and threatened to burn her face if she dared wear makeup, suspicious that his 12-year-old Afghan wife was trying to make herself attractive to other men. Click here to read more (external link).
The New York Times: Mumtaz is a 23-year-old woman from the northern Afghan province of Kunduz, the victim of an acid attack when she was 18, whose tormentors were jailed. It was a rare legal victory in the struggle for women’s rights in Afghanistan, hailed at the time as proof that justice for female victims was possible.
The Guardian (UK): Shakila Zareen’s asylum application was initially approved after her husband shot her, but it was later denied under Donald Trump’s new US migration policies. When Shakila Zareen learned that her husband planned to kill her, she fled to her mother’s house. A few hours later, she was alone in the living room when her