Afghanistan
Afghanistan: Schoolgirl Acid Attack Victims Demand Justice
Last year, Al Jazeera reported on two teenage girls who suffered appalling injuries when acid was thrown in their faces on their way to school in Afghanistan. It was one of a series of attacks blamed on the Taliban. Shamsia Husseina and her sister Atifa returned to school in January, determined to continue their education. But new threats have left them living in fear for their lives once again. Al Jazeera's Teresa Bo reports.
A Woman's Place: Perspectives on Afghanistan's Evolving Legal Framework
Over the past three years, Rights & Democracy has been directly involved in the reform of family law in Afghanistan. Through fieldwork and research work, a number of questions, reflections and lines of analysis were raised that needed further discussion. To this end, four authors have reflected on a series of questions that are central themes of this book: the evolution of reforms in 20th century Afghanistan; the participation of civil society in the legislative process in the post-Taliban era; the marriage contract and registration of marriages; and the gap between the theoretical discourse and practice with regards to protecting the rights of women.
A Measure of Equality for Afghan Women: Rights in Practice
In April 2007, Rights & Democracy launched a project entitled A Measure of Equality for Afghan Women: Rights in Practice. The aim of this project is to support the process of family law reform to bring it in line with the Constitution of Afghanistan and the obligations under international human rights treaties.
Afghanistan: High Stakes in Girls' Education
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Millions of girls have entered school in Afghanistan, since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. It is one of the few good news stories of the last nine years. However, the deteriorating security situation and the international community’s focus on stabilization and counter-insurgency rather than on long-term development means this good news story is in danger of turning bad. A new approach from both the Afghan government and donors is urgently required to hold onto the gains that have been made.
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The “Ten-Dollar Talib” and Women’s Rights: Afghan Women and the Risks of Reintegration and Reconciliation
Summary: For Afghan women these are anxious times, caught between war and the prospect of a foreboding peace. Women and girls are paying a heavy price in the conflict areas of Afghanistan: killed and wounded by insurgents and airstrikes; local codes of honor violated by intrusive “night raids” by international soldiers; their movement sharply hindered by insecurity; and for many the loss of their families’ breadwinners. Insurgents regularly deny Afghan girls the right to education via attacks on schools and threats against teachers or students. They deny women the right to pursue their own livelihoods, attacking or threatening women working outside of the home.
Afghanistan: Concluding Observations by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (3-21 May 2010)
Highlights from the Report
16. The Committee notes with concern that the traditional dispute resolution mechanisms which absorbs more cases of dispute that the formal judicial system, is not compatible with the human rights standards, including the Covenant rights. The Committee regrets the fact that the rights of women and children, as well as those of nomadic tribes and the poorest sectors of society, are particularly affected by the lack of access to formal justice mechanisms.
Proceedings of the CSW panel discussion on violence against women and girls justified in the name of culture
On March 3rd, a panel discussion on violence against women and girls justified in the name of culture was held by the Violence is Not our Culture (VNC) campaign during the 54th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).
No Justice in Justifications: Violence Against Women in the Name of Culture, Religion and Tradition
Addressing Gender-specific Violations in Afghanistan
Addressing Gender-specific Violations in Afghanistan
Afghanistan Program
International Center for Transitional Justice
I. Introduction
For the field of transitional justice, which seeks mechanisms and processes to reestablish peace and encourage accountability for past crimes and reconciliation within conflict-ridden communities,questions of violations that women suffer during conflicts are especially pertinent. Decoding the gendered nature of conflict and violations committed during such an event is complicated by the fact that women are often overlooked as actors and victims. Furthermore the crimes against women during such circumstances are seldom specific to outbreaks of war; the conflict merely accentuates discrimination and violations that women suffer during peace.
SILENCE IS VIOLENCE End the Abuse of Women in Afghanistan
Afghanistan is widely known and appreciated for its rich history, culture, literature and
arts as well as its magnificent landscape. It is also widely known that large numbers of
Afghans die, or live wretched lives, because violence is an everyday fact of life. Such
violence is not openly condoned but neither is it challenged nor condemned by society at
large or by state institutions. It is primarily human rights activists that make an issue of
violence including, in particular, its impact on, and ramifications for, women and girls in
Afghanistan. It is also left to a handful of stakeholders to challenge the way in which a
culture of impunity, and the cycle of violence it generates, undermines democratization,
the establishment of the rule of law and other efforts geared to building an environment
conducive to respect for human rights.