[women-rights] Afghanistan: No justice and security for women

News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty International
AI INDEX: ASA 11/025/2003
6 October 2003


The international community has failed to fulfil its promises to bring 
freedom and equality to the women of Afghanistan, Amnesty International 
said in a report released today.
(For the full text of the report, please go to: 
http://amnesty-news.c.tep1.com/maabwrGaa02Ggbd5AQwb/ )

"Nearly two years on, discrimination, violence, and insecurity remain rife, 
despite promises by world leaders, including President Bush and US 
Secretary of Sate Colin Powell, that the war in Afghanistan would bring 
liberation for women," the organization emphasized.

The new report "Afghanistan: No one listens to us and no one treats us a 
human beings. Justice denied to women" documents Afghan women's concerns 
about widespread domestic violence, forced marriage, and rape by armed 
groups. In some cases underage girls as young as eight years old are 
married to much older men.


"This situation is unacceptable and calls for urgent action," Amnesty 
International said.

The report also highlights how women in Afghanistan have no recourse to 
justice. Despite the lifting of rules limiting their freedom of movement, 
women are prevented from seeking redress because of barriers in society and 
in the community in many areas. Even when a woman is able to approach the 
police or the courts, she faces extreme discrimination.

"The current criminal justice system is simply unwilling or unable to 
address issues of violence against women," the organization continued. "At 
the moment it is more likely to violate the rights of women than to protect 
and uphold their rights."

The new report outlines a number of immediate steps the Afghan government 
and international community should take to begin to deliver on its promise 
of ensuring justice for the women of Afghanistan. Foremost is the provision 
of security through an expansion of an international peace keeping force 
outside Kabul to create an environment in which the rule of law can be 
established.

"Women's rights protections cannot be meaningfully established without the 
rule of law."

The organization further calls on the international community to coordinate 
efforts to integrate the protection of women's rights into the 
reconstruction of police, legal reforms, and the establishment of courts.


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For the full text of the report, please go to:
"Afghanistan: No one listens to us and no one treats us as human beings. 
Justice denied to women"
http://amnesty-news.c.tep1.com/maabwrGaa02Ggbd5AQwb/

For other recent reports on Afghanistan please go to:

"Afghanistan: Re-establishing the rule of law"
http://amnesty-news.c.tep1.com/maabwrGaa02Ghbd5AQwb/

"Afghanistan: Crumbling prison system desperately in need of repair"
http://amnesty-news.c.tep1.com/maabwrGaa02Gibd5AQwb/

"Afghanistan: Out of sight, out of mind: The fate of the Afghan returnees"
http://amnesty-news.c.tep1.com/maabwrGaa02Gjbd5AQwb/

"Afghanistan: Police reconstruction essential for the protection of human 
rights"
http://amnesty-news.c.tep1.com/maabwrGaa02Gkbd5AQwb/

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