KABUL - Over 80 representatives from Judiciary, Attorney General’s Office, Ministry of Interior, Prosecutors, human rights and civil society organizations started off discussions in Kabul on forced and underage marriages in Afghanistan.

Purpose of this 3-day seminar for legal practitioners organized under the auspices of the Human Rights Unit of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and relevant government institutions was to assess the legal, religious and customary aspects of the issue and develop recommendations for a better implementation of the penal codes and Elimination of Violence against Women (EVAW) law.

The President’s Legal Advisor, Nasrullah Stanikzai formally inaugurated the seminar and reiterated Government’s full support for elimination of violence against women in Afghanistan.

“Customary traditions, weak rule of law, illiteracy and lack of awareness are the main causes of forced and underage marriages in Afghanistan,” said Shehla Farid, Professor of Faculty of Law, at the University of Kabul.

She underpinned that insecurity is a major obstacle for implementation of the related laws.

The seminar is a follow up on UNAMA’s report A long way to go: Implementation of the Elimination of Violence against Women law in Afghanistan released on 23 November 2011.

“EVAW law criminalizes 17 harmful traditional practices out of which forced and underage marriages have been selected as the theme of the seminar,” said a UNAMA official.

EVAW law was enacted by the Government of Afghanistan in 2009 to fight against customs and practices that are contrary to the religion of Islam and cause violence against women.

UNAMA reported that prosecution offices in 28 of the country’s 34 provinces registered a total of 594 cases of violence under the EVAW law from 21 March 2010 to 20 March 2011. Out of these, 155 cases or 26 percent were filed with courts for prosecution. The courts tried only 101 cases of 17 per cent.

By UNAMA/Kabul