KABUL - In a series of United Nations-facilitated radio and television discussions – to be broadcast in Afghanistan’s provinces over the next 16 days as part of a global campaign against gender-based violence – a range of participants from Afghan society highlighted the negative consequences of child and forced marriages and harmful traditional practices which affect women and girls.

“We are the witnesses of the awful consequences of early and forced marriages,” said a participant in a discussion in south-eastern Paktya province, Zarmina Shams, who represented the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC).

Citing an example of a 16-year-old married girl who already has four children, Ms. Shams said, “She was so weak that she was shaking while talking to me.” Another example she gave was of a 15-year-old girl – married to an 80-year-old man – who later committed suicide.

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) facilitated the roundtable discussions as part of the observance of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, which falls today. The UN General Assembly designated 25 November as the International Day through a resolution passed in 1999, with the aim of raising public awareness of the problem.

The 14 discussions being recorded in nine of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces involve representatives from government institutions, academia and civil society, among other parts of society.

They were recorded over the past week in eastern Nangarhar province, southern Kandahar province, the northern provinces of Balkh and Shiberghan, the central provinces of Bamyan and Dai Kundi and the north-eastern provinces of Kunduz and Takhar. Starting today, the recordings will be broadcast by provincial radio and television outlets over the coming days.

The International Day also kicks off the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, an international campaign which through, the overlapping of key dates – such as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and International Human Right Day, which falls on 10 December, amongst others – symbolically links violence against women and human rights and aims to emphasize that such violence is a violation of human rights.

In his message for the Day, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said violence against women and girls directly affects individuals while harming “our common humanity.”

“I welcome the chorus of voices calling for an end to the violence that affects an estimated one in three women in her lifetime,” said the UN chief. “This International Day to End Violence against Women is an opportunity for all people to recommit to preventing and halting all forms of violence against women and girls.”

Violence against women is a serious issue in Afghanistan. More than 4,000 cases of violence against women and girls were reported by 33 of the country’s 34 provinces to the Ministry of Women’s Affairs in 2010-2012. In recent months Afghanistan has witnessed several cases of violence, including abduction and targeted killings by anti-Government elements aimed at female Government officials and public figures.

On Sunday, Mr. Ban’s Special Representative in the country, Ján Kubiš, joined a range of senior officials from UN agencies, funds and programmes based in Afghanistan in speaking out on the issue.

“Such deplorable attacks must stop as they discourage women and girls from pursuing careers in the public arena for fear of losing their lives,” said Mr. Kubiš, in a joint UN news release. “Progress in ending harmful practices, intimidation and violence against women and girls can enable them to fully and actively participate in the country's political and economic development. This contributes to improvements in the lives of all Afghans.”

Speaking at a roundtable discussion in Paktya province, a religious scholar, Maulawi Mohammad Sadiq, said that violence against women is common in Afghanistan because “our people are oblivious to Islamic law which strongly condemns ba’ad (giving away girls in dispute resolution), forced marriage and walwar (bride price).”

The roundtable discussion in Paktya is one of four being recorded and aired in the country’s south-eastern region.

Besides covering the issues of child and forced marriages, the discussions also cover other related issues, such as women’s rights from an Islamic perspective, provisions for women in the Afghan Constitution, the law on the Elimination of Violence against Women (EVAW), the importance of education for women, and local traditions that promote violence against women.

Enacted in August 2009 through a decree by Afghan President Hamid Karzai, the EVAW law criminalizes child marriage, forced marriage, selling and buying women for the purpose or under the pretext of marriage, ba’ad, forced self-immolation and 17 other acts of violence against women including rape and beating. It also specifies punishment for perpetrators.

UNAMA monitors progress on the implementation of the EVAW law. UNAMA’s report on its implementation in 2012 found that despite some progress in implementing the law, its application continued to be hampered by “dramatic under reporting” and lack of investigations into most incidents of violence targeting women. The next UNAMA report on the matter is expected to be released in the coming weeks.

Speaking at a roundtable discussion in Kunduz province on Monday, the director of a local hospital, Dr. Friba Hedayat, raised the negative mental and physical consequences stemming from forced and early marriages.

“The negative impacts of the forced and underage marriages could be suicide, self-burning, complicated deliveries and eclampsia [an acute and life-threatening complication of pregnancy],” said Dr. Hedayat.

A civil society activist, Muhammad Sabir Yousufi, said the media and civil society can play “a significant role” in investigating the social causes and roots of violence against women, as well as in finding solutions for the problem and raising the public awareness on women’s rights.

At a roundtable discussion in Bamyan province, a civil society activist, Ismael Zaki, listed a number of reasons behind violence against women in Afghanistan: a high level of illiteracy, a lack of awareness among women about their rights, harmful traditional practices prevalent in Afghan society, and drug addiction.

Speaking at a separate discussion in northern Afghanistan, human rights activist Fawzia Nawabi highlighted the importance of public awareness to reduce the level of violence against women. She said that not only violation of human rights but also the rising crime rate in the society is directly linked to lack of education.

“I have noticed that all the women who serve a period behind bars are illiterate, this means they are not educated, don’t know their rights, are unaware how to solve their problems,” said Ms. Nawabi.

In Jalalabad, an AIHRC representative, Sabrina Hameedi, said 45 out of 175 cases of violence against women registered with the provincial human rights body in the past eight months have been resolved.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s Deputy Minister for Women’s Affairs, Sayeda Mojgan Mostafavi, told a gathering in the capital, Kabul, today that the government has started a new project called ‘Shahid wa Mutazarir’ (transl. ‘Evidence and Victim’) under which any case of violence against women, from the moment it is registered at her Ministry, is followed up to the very last step until a court of justice delivers its verdict.

During the 16-day campaign, Ms. Mostafavi said, the government is also organizing two national conferences: on women’s rights in Islam and on assessment of women’s rights enshrined in the Panel Code of Afghanistan.

“In addition, we have public awareness programmes, which include 10 television spots for elimination of violence against women,” said Ms. Mostafavi.

Also today, the Women’s Affairs Department in western Herat province organized a ceremony to mark the International Day and the start of the 16-day campaign. A documentary on efforts to eliminate violence against women was screened at the beginning of the ceremony attended by government officials, religious scholars, women, youth, journalists, human rights activists and members of international community.

“The main reason for marking the 16 days of campaign for eliminating violence against women in Herat is to obtain a re-commitment from local officials, religious leaders to work harder for the rights of Afghan women,” said the acting head of the Department, Somaya Taheri.