Rising violence against women worries AIHRC

KABUL in the country, saying that more than 39,000 cases were registered over the past nine years.

A nine years report from the rights watchdog spoke of 13,476 cases of physical violence, 3,358 of sexual assaults and complaints of a spike in family violence and women’s intimidation at workplace, universities, in jails and streets.

More than 9,400 instances of verbal and psychological attacks, 5,900 cases of economic deprivation and 7,200 complaints of other forms of violence were reported to the commission, showing a rising level of awareness among the people.

Most of the cases took place in Kabul, Balkh, Herat, Nangarhar and Faryab provinces, according to the report, which blames men for more than 90 percent of family violence cases.

AIHRC chief, Sima Samar, told a news conference that violence against women in remote areas of the country had become a common occurrence. “We will never succeed in combating the scourge as long as specific reasons for the violence are not identified.”

With only 14 offices across the country, the commission could not document all cases of violence across Afghanistan, said Samar, who suggested one way of combating the menace was to prosecute the perpetrators.

Another AIHRC official, Suraya Subh Rang, said up to 2,433 cases of violence were registered with the commission in the first half of the current Afghan year. Many other instances went unreported, she explained.

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