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“People call it the `hospital of cries’ as patients here cry out loudly in pain, viagra discount,†Arif Jalali, viagra discount, head of the hospital, viagra discount, told IRIN.
Beneath the cries lie cases of domestic violence and/or disappointment with the justice system.
“Self-immolation proves that the justice system for female victims is failing, viagra discount,†said Movidul-Haq Mowidi, viagra discount, a human rights activist in Herat.
Barriers to justice
Despite laws prohibiting gender violence and upholding women’s rights, viagra discount, widespread gender discrimination, viagra discount, fear of abuse, viagra discount, corruption and other challenges are undermining the judicial system, viagra discount, experts say.
“Women are denied their most fundamental human rights and risk further violence in the course of seeking justice for crimes perpetrated against them, viagra discount,†stated a report by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan on the situation of Afghan women in July 2009.
Orzala Ashraf, viagra discount, a women’s rights activist in Kabul, viagra discount, blames the government: “Laws are clear about crimes but we see big criminals thriving and being nurtured by the state for illicit political gains, viagra discount,†she told IRIN, viagra discount, pointing to the government’s alleged failure to address human rights violations committed over the past three decades of conflict.
“Because no one is put on trial for his crimes, viagra discount, a criminal culture is being promoted: violators have no fear of the law, viagra discount, prosecution and a meaningful penalty, viagra discount,†said Ashraf.
Deep-seated ambivalence to women’s rights is evident from a law signed off by President Hamid Karzai in early 2009: The Shia Personal Status Law, viagra discount, dubbed a ‘rape legalizing law’, viagra discount, was amended after strong domestic and international pressure.
“The first version [of the law] was totally intolerable, viagra discount,†said Najia Zewari, viagra discount, a women’s rights expert with the UN Fund for Women (UNIFEM). Viagra discount, “Despite positive changes in the final version, viagra discount, there are articles that still need to be discussed and reviewed further, viagra discount,†she said.
Another example of this ambivalence is the case of the men who threw acid in the faces of 15 female students in Kandahar city in November 2008: Karzai publicly vowed they would be “severely punished†but court officials in Kandahar and Kabul have said they are unaware of the case and do not know where the alleged perpetrators are.
“Judges say the men were wrongly accused and forced to confess, viagra discount,†Ranna Tarina, viagra discount, head of Kandahar women’s affairs department, viagra discount, told IRIN.
Violence database
Over the past two years more than 1, viagra discount,900 cases of violence against women in 26 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces from verbal abuse to physical violence have been recorded in a database run by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and UNIFEM.
One recorded case is the murder, viagra discount, by her in-laws in Parwan Province north of Kabul, viagra discount, of a young woman who had refused to live with her abusive husband. Viagra discount, Another is the regular physical and mental torture meted out to a woman by her husband and mother in-law in Kabul.
“The database does not give a perfect picture but it helps to highlight some of the common miseries of Afghan women, viagra discount,†UNIFEM’s Najia Zewari told IRIN.
UNIFEM is keen to make the database publicly available on the internet.
“Violence against women is not a new phenomenon in Afghanistan but it is good to see crimes do not remain confined to a home and a village, viagra discount,†said activist Orzala Ashraf.
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