London, March 28 (IANS) About half of the women in Afghan prisons are being held for moral crimes like adultery or running away from home, says a Human Rights Watch report.
The report has found that despite a number of improvements, women still face extremely limited protection in the Afghan court system, the Guardian reported.
It’s been over a decade of international efforts to reform the legal system and women’s rights in Afghanistan.
The Human Rights Watch report focused primarily on the imprisonment of women who fled their homes to escape abusive situations. In almost all such instances, those responsible for the abuse did not face any legal actions but the victims faced prison sentences.
“In our view this misuse of the made-up crime of running away is emblematic of the difficult position that women find themselves in Afghanistan today,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch.
There has “obviously been progress in education for women and healthcare for women and employment and travel for women”, he said. “That’s all been good, but the progress that has been made is precarious.”
“Particularly as the international community pulls back militarily from Afghanistan we believe that it’s important too that the Afghan government and the international community recommit themselves to the rights of all Afghans, including women,” he added.
