35 women lost lives to violence this year, says minister

KABUL (Pajhwok): As many as 7,000 cases of violence against women, including 37 murder incidents, have been registered nationwide this solar year, an official said on Thursday.

Dilbar Nazari, women on Thursday.

Of the 7,284 cases of violence against women, she said, 57 were serious offences. The incidents were recorded across the country.

She added perpetrators of 3,396 crimes were warned, 1,236 cases referred to support centers and 470 victims of violence received assistance.

In order to control violence cases against women, the minister said, public awareness programs had been conducted in 224 districts of the country.

She said most of the cases registered this year pertained to divorce, beatings and insult.

Roya Dadras, spokeswoman fot the Ministry of Women Affairs, said that 58 cases of the violence registered this year were serious.

She said the cases included 25 murders, six sexual assault incidents, four of strangulation, three kangaroo court verdicts, three suicide incidents, two cases of selling girls, one of exchange marriage and one of forced marriage.

Most of the cases were recorded in Sar-i-Pul, Logar, Ghor, Badghis, Faryab, Jawzjan, Farah, Takhar, Balkh, Nangarhar, Samangan, Kabul and Bamyan provinces, she added.

The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) recently said cases of violence against women had increased in the country.

mds/mud