KABUL, Afghanistan - As the world marks International Women's Day, ambivalence, impunity, weak law enforcement and corruption continue to undermine women's rights in Afghanistan, despite a July 2009 law banning violence against women, rights activists say.
Source: World News
- A recent case of the public beating of a woman for alleged elopement - also shown on private TV stations in Kabul - highlights the issue.
- In January domestic violence forced two young women to flee their homes in Oshaan village, Dolaina District, Ghor Province, southwestern Afghanistan. A week later they were arrested in neighbouring Herat Province and sent back to Oshaan, according to the governor of Ghor, Mohammad Iqbal Munib.
- "One woman was beaten in public for the elopement and the second was reportedly confined in a sack with a cat," Munib told IRIN.
- According to the governor, the illegal capture of the women was orchestrated by Fazul Ahad who leads an illegal armed militia group in Dolaina District. Locals say Ahad, a powerful figure who backed President Hamid Karzai in the August 2009 elections, has been running Oshaan as his personal fiefdom.
- Read more IRIN book on loss in childbirth The tribulations of child-bearing children Public space "shrinking" for women - UN official "Differentiate rape from adultery" - rights groups Maternity Hospital (2007) Losing Hope - Women in Afghanistan (Media Player) "Differentiate rape from adultery" (in Dari) "When the roads reopen to Dolaina [closed by snow] we will send a team to investigate," said the governor, adding that he was concerned that arresting Ahad could cause instability. "We have asked the authorities in Kabul for support and guidance."
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