Harmful practices identified as Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in Afghanistan, Prevalence of GBV in Afghanistan and Government Efforts to tackle Violence against women (VAW).

1. Gender-Based Violence
in Afghanistan
Wazhma Hakimi
Doctor of Medicine (MD), Master of Public Health (MPH), Maser of
Science in International Health (MScIH)

2. Violence Against Women and Girls (VAW/G)
Harmful practices identified as GBV in Afghanistan:
• Domestic violence,
• Forced marriage,
• Child/underage marriage,
• Exchange marriage (Baadal),
• Giving away girls to settle disputes (giving Baad),
• Prohibiting from the right of marriage or right to choose spouse;
• Recording the identity of the victim and publishing it in a way that damages her
personality;
• Restriction on women’s freedom of movement
• Denying the right to education, work and access to health services.
• ‘honor’ killings,
• Trafficking
• Sexual assault including rape;
• Forced prostitution;

3. Cont…
• Physical assault including hitting/Beating, stoning, slapping, cutting, shoving, burning
(using chemicals or other dangerous substances), shooting or use of any weapons, acid attacks
• Causing injury or disability;
• Psychological/emotional abuse like, verbal abuse, humiliating, intimidating;
• Harassment/persecution;
• Forced isolation;
• Forced addiction;
• Depriving from inheritance;
• Prohibiting to access personal property;
• Forced labor;
• Marrying more than one wife without observing Article 86 of Civil Code;
• Denial of relationship.
(GBV Treatment Protocol for Healthcare Providers in Afghanistan, 2014)

4. Prevalence of GBV in Afghanistan
• 1,669 incidents of VAW in 16 provinces
• Of which only 109 cases (7%) were processed by the formal justice system
• battery and laceration-the most prevalent forms
• 87% of the women interviewed in 4,700 households experienced at least one form of domestic violence
• 62% experienced multiple forms of violence
• 17% reported sexual violence (11% rape)
• 52% were victims of physical violence
• 59% were forced to marry
• 74% were victims of psychological and verbal violence
• 21% were forms of economic violence
• Lifetime Physical/Sexual Intimate Partner Violence : 51 %
• Physical/Sexual Intimate Partner Violence in the last 12 months : 46 %
• Child Marriage : 35%
(UN WOMEN, 2016)
( UNAMA, 2013)
(National Report on Domestic Abuse in Afghanistan, 2008)

5. Consequences of VAW:
• Self-immolation
• ‘Running away’ or ‘home escape’
• re-victimization
• 2% resulted in the death of the victim
• 2% in attempted suicide and 0.5% in suicide
• 2,300 Afghan girls and women commit suicide every year
• 23% result in temporary physical injury
• 4% in permanent physical injury
• 28% of women suffer from severe depression
• 78% suffer anxiety
• 31% suffer PTSD
(UNIFEM, 2006)
(Mortality Survey, 2010)

6. Not all women suffer VAW
Vulnerable groups to VAW:
-Younger age
-Refugees & Migrants, IDPs
-Women with disabilities
-Women without supporter(Man)
-Prisoners
-Uneducated/less education
-Poor
-Beggars
-Women with mental problems
-Ethnic groups
-Employed, Unemployed

7. Examples of domestic violence in Afg.
• 6m Pregnant woman, beaten, her genitals
mutilated, leading to a miscarriage, 20 years
old, Takhar
• Another pregnant woman killed by her in-
laws over suspicion that she had an extra-
marital affair, 20 years old, Faryab
• A woman whose husband chopped off her
nose in January 2016
• Man attacked his wife all of a sudden,
shredded her hair with a scissor and shaved
parts of her head, cut parts of her genitals
and beat her up with a wooden stick.

8. Killed by angry mob on the streets of Kabul.
While arguing with a shrine keeper about his practice of selling charms at the mosque
Accused of burning the Quran.
Hearing the accusations, angry men flocked to the mosque and attacked her. She was beaten
with sticks and stones and ran over with a car.
Her body was dumped on the banks of the Kabul river and set afire.
The Farkhunda trial is a statistical outlier.
At her funeral, women’s rights activists broke with tradition and carried her coffin to her grave.

10. • Presidential Decree- extensive public awareness campaign in mass media, and mosques
concerning VAW
• Inclusion of VAW in other national plans and strategies
• The first law in the history of Afghanistan that clearly describes more than 22
actions against women as crimes and orders the perpetrators of such action be
punished
• Law on Elimination of VAW, MINISTRY OF JUSTICE, rights:
• Having access to shelter or other safe place(s) with the consent of the victim;
• Having free access to emergency health services;
• Having an advocate or legal aid provider;
• Compensation to damage resulted from the act of violence;
(Torunn Wimpelmann, 2015)
Government Efforts to tackle VAW in Afg:

11. Progress in SDG 5:
• Economic Empowerment
• Agriculture and handy craft productions
• Empowerment of women to join the labour force.
• Actively participation in government, including in leadership and decision making
positions.
• The number of seats reserved for women has been specified in the Constitution of
Afghanistan
• In parliament and local government is 23% which higher than the world’s average of
21%.
• Increased educational opportunities
• Supported women to report crimes, Surge in the # of reported cases
• Capacity building of police and judiciary to register and resolve gender
abuses.
(SDGs’ Progress Report, 2017)

12. Targets:
• 56% of women
experienced violence
by their husband or
fiancé.
• 53% of women
experienced violence
by people other than
their partner.
• Target 5.2: to reduce
this ratio to under 40%
by the end of 2030.
• 17% married at age
15-19
• while % of male
married in the same
age is 3%.
• Target 5.3: decrease
to 10% by 2030.
• 73% unpaid domestic
female workers,
• for male workers the
ratio is 17%
• Target 5.4: reduction to
15% by the end of 2030
• Women constitute
10.7% of managerial
position in
government.
• Target 5.5: This trend
will improve to 32%
by the end of 2030.
ineffective
management
and lack of
capacity of
MoWA
(SDGs’ Progress Report, 2017)

13. Challenges:• Few are punished
• The implementation of Elimination of VAW (EVAW) law has been limited.
• Gaps in Existing Legal Framework
• Weaknesses of the Criminal Justice System
• VAW has traditionally been seen as a private matter
• Many of these incidents, are never reported. VAW is prevalent and the hidden figures are extremely high.
• Related to family conflicts
• Many men who beat and abuse women inside the privacy of their homes.
• The most serious cases often involve women who do not have the resources or support to actually go to the
police to report the crime.
• Fear of re-victimization
• Economic dependency (due to which women cannot leave abusive husband)
• Some women are undoubtedly pressured by family members to withdraw
• Claim rapes have turned out to be a matter of wanting dowry or restoring honour
• Lack of empowered female police staff
• Running away
(Torunn Wimpelmann, 2015)

14. References:
• Gender-based Violence Treatment Protocol for Healthcare Providers in Afghanistan. (2014).
MoPH, WHO, UN WOMEN.
• Torunn Wimpelmann, 2015, Violence against women in Afghanistan: Getting away with murder,
https://www.cmi.no/news/1550-violence-against-women-in-afghanistan
• SDGs’ Progress Report. 2017. Afghanistan.
• UN WOMEN. (2016). Global Database on Violence against Women:Afghanistan. evaw-global
database.unwomen.org/en/countries/asia/afghanistan#1