The Afghan government must work with the International Criminal Court to investigate those responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Afghanistan, Amnesty International said today, after an attack on a Kabul hotel claimed by the Taleban left at least 10 people dead.

The attack is the latest in a series of serious attacks by insurgents deliberately targeting civilians, including a car bomb attack on a hospital in Afghanistan's eastern Logar province on 25 June, which killed at least 27 people, including many women and children.  

Until very recently, it was common in Nadir Shah Kot to give a girl away as reparation to avenge a crime. The family of a murderer would marry off a daughter to the victim’s brother or son. It was believed, that in this way, harmony could be restored in the community.

Those who follow the tradition will be punished.

But in December last year, the tribal elders and religious leaders of Nadir Shah Kot, a district in the Eastern province of Khost, decided otherwise. They gathered to end this age-old abusive practice called baad.

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.

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.