The decree is based on a previous decision of the Afghan Supreme Court - the most reactionary legislative body in the country - that defined it a Crime for a woman to leave her home and seek shelter in one of the refuges for abused women run by the NGOs.
The decision of the Afghan Supreme Court already restricted the possibilities for women victims of violence to appeal to judicial bodies.
Moreover, the law requires the closure of some refuges, the accompaniment of women by a mahram (male relative or husband), the teaching of Islan and the obligation of women to submit to continual "medical examinations" in order to monitor their sexual activity. The government affirms that management by the MoWA will guarantee a better administration of funds and a better choice of staff.
We maintain that this measure has been taken to satisfy fundamentalists and the Taliban, whith whom negotiations have been started. The refuges have been labelled by some as brothels and the choice has been made to bring them under control.
The consequences of this will be disastrous for the women victims of violence. :
- No male relative - and much less a husband - will accompany a woman to a refuge: in most cases, it is they who are the perpetrators of the violence from which the women want to escape.
- In Afghanistan, rape is reason for shame and for the repudiation of the woman. If the medical examination were to show that a woman has been raped, under government control, the woman would be condemned instead of being helped.
- If a woman were to escape from a forced marriage, once she arrives at the refuge she would be denounced by the government, since leaving home is considered a crime.
- Young women sent home would live a life of shame and marginalisation , if they are not killed, as is shown by various cases of stoning in different parts of the country in recent months.
- If the family were to ask for the return of the woman - whatever the reason, including a forced marriage, the staff of the refuge could not refuse. As if this were not enough, many women who have been in refuges will be accused of adultery within their community.
- Afghanistan is one of the most corrupt countries in the world: there will be no guarantee that the funds donated by international agencies for women victims of violence will be properly controlled.
The Karzai government, set up and maintained by the US-NATO occupation, is certainly not distinguished by its respect for human rights. :
- In March 2009 the Karzai government passed a law against women - particularly those from the Shiite community. According to this law, women could not refuse to have sexual relations with their husbands and they could not go to work, to the doctor, or to school without his permission.
- In March 2007, the Karzai government guaranteed an amnessty for all the crimes against humanity committed in Afghanistan in the last 20 years.
- In January 2007, the journalist Parwez Kambashkh was condemned to death by a tribunal in Balkh, after being accused of blasphemy because of his ideas about equal rights for women. Though Parwez was pardoned following international pressure, dozens of other journalists operate in the same situation.
- In July 2006, the Karzai government reintroduced the “Ministry of Vice and Virtue”, - sadly well known under the Taliban regime.
- Moveover, Afghan human rights organisations denounce constant pressure from the government to legalise the “informal justice informale” (tribale) which provides for the stoning of women.
E l’Italia?
Between 2001 and 2011, the Italian government has invested hundreds of millions of Euro in a project to rebuild the justice system in Afghanistan. We call on the Italian government and the political forces that have supported - and still support - the military intervention in Afghanistan to explain how the funds for the rebuilding of the Afghan justice system have been spent, given that in recent years laws have been passed that penalise rather than favour human rights and the rights of Afghan women.
INFO CISDA: cell. 3336868938
COORDINAMENTO ITALIANO SOSTEGNO DONNE AFGHANE Onlus
BANCA POPOLARE ETICA – Agenzia Via Melzo, 34 – Milano
IBAN: IT64U0501801600000000113666 – SWIFT: CCRTIT2T84A
Afghan Women
