Violence against Jawzjan women on the rise

SHIBERGHAN (PAN have almost doubled in northern Jawzjan province, a senior human rights official said on Wednesday.

There has been an alarming increase in violence against women, said the Independent Human Rights Commission Director for Jawzjan, Faryab, and Sara-i-Pul provinces.

Maghfirat Samimi told Pajhwok Afghan News that last year 16 cases of violence against women were recorded, but the number rose to 30 this year. The cases include physical and sexual abuse, domestic violence and intimidation of women at workplace.

The incidents registered this year included 10 suicide incidents, the official said, adding most of families forced their daughters for marriages against their will, paving the way for elopement.

He cited an incident that involved a girl below 18 years, who denied marrying against her will, sparking an ongoing controversy between the two families.

Jamila 33, a citizen of Shiberghan, said she was sold to two men by her husband. “The first man married me for seven years before I had to tie the knot with a second man named Manan,” she said.

“Eventually, my ordeal came to an end with the intervention of my sister, but I spent five years in jail with Manan,” said the mother of five. Struggling to get divorce from her husband, Jamila has enrolled her children in school.

Mohammad Halim, another resident of the area, said one of his neighbours had gorged out his wife’s eyes. The criminal was currently in jail, he added.

mrh/ma/mud