KABUL - Fatima was 14 when she was married to a man who had already divorced twice. After the marriage, she was physically and mentally tortured for the next 16 years by her husband and in-laws until she divorced. At the time of divorce, Fatima had three daughters and a son. The husband took the son and left her with three daughters to survive on their own.

When the daughters became adults Fatima’s husband returned into their lives. He came with a proposal to marry one daughter to the son of a Taliban commander in Kunduz. Fearing that if that daughter married she too would be cruelly treated Fatima took her daughters and fled to a women’s shelter in Kabul. Her case is being prosecuted through the judicial system.

Seventeen-year-old Mahtab is another girl living in a Kabul shelter. For two years she suffered from severe physical violence caused by her husband. Finally, Mahtab lost her patience and ran away from home. Currently, she is seeking divorce and is being assisted by mediation services provided by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs.

Many girls and women run away from their homes to escape violence but not all of them are lucky enough to end up in safe shelters. A recent Human Rights Watch (HRW) report, “I Had To Run Away”, estimates that of the about 700 women and girls currently detained in prisons across Afghanistan, 470 have been found guilty and imprisoned on the charge of fleeing from home with the intent to commit adultery.

“The Supreme Court in the past had sent a memo to judges instructing them that running away is a crime under some circumstances. If a woman runs away and goes straight to the police or to her family members, then that is not a crime but if she goes elsewhere then it is a crime,” said Heather Barr, an HRW researcher in Afghanistan.

A recent press release from UN Women in Afghanistan called the arrest of women and girls on charges of running away and intent to commit ‘Zina’ (adultery) a direct contradiction of Afghan laws. UN Women asserts that “intent alone is not sufficient to prosecute a woman for adultery”.

On 16 September, the Minister for Justice, Habibullah Ghalib, the Minister for Women’s Affairs, Hussn Banoo Ghazanfar, and Deputy Interior Minister Baz Mohammad Yarmand strongly condemned the imprisonment of women and girls who were charged with running away.
 
UN Women, human rights organizations and women’s activists welcomed this official clarification, calling it a milestone in the protection of the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan.

Since then UN Women, Human Rights Watch and a Parliamentary Commission on Women’s Rights have demanded that the Government immediately and unconditionally release all women and girls being detained for running away and for considering adultery.

“The Government should work to ensure the protection of these women and girls, including the provision of appropriate support services, and bring all perpetrators of violence against women to justice,” said Ingibjorg Gisladottir, the UN Women Country Director in Afghanistan.

In most cases the women and girls fleeing from home are the victims of crimes that could themselves be prosecuted under the Elimination of Violence Against Women (EVAW) law. That law was enacted by the Government of Afghanistan in 2009 to fight against customs, traditions and practices that are contrary to the religion of Islam and cause violence against women. The law criminalizes 16 acts including early marriage, forced marriage, physical and mental torture, giving away a girl to settle family disputes and verbal abuse.

In the majority of the cases of the violence against women, the actual perpetrators do not receive any punishment. Instead it is the women who have already been victimized who are punished.

“When people victimize women they are not arrested and not punished and the women who are victims of these crimes, they are often treated like criminals,” said Ms. Barr.

The head of the Human Rights Unit of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), Georgette Gagnon said that “these arbitrary and selective applications of the law violate fundamental rights and guarantees protected under international law including the right to life, security of the person, freedom of movement, right to health and arbitrary and unlawful interference with privacy, family or home.”

Women activists and human rights experts believe that the effective implementation of the EVAW law can help reduce the number of cases of violence against women and protect the rights of women in Afghanistan.

However, there is also a need to change social attitudes. Factors that drive women and girls to flee their homes should be identified and families should pay attention to address the needs of women, particularly young girls.

“After running away from homes, young girls could fall into the hands of human traffickers and end up in sex industries in other countries. It is therefore significantly important to raise awareness among families and young girls on this issue,” said Dr. Suraiya Subhrang, a Commissioner at the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC).

By UNAMA Kabul

(This article appeared in the Issue #6 of the "Afghanistan and the United Nations" newspaper published by the United Nations in Afghanistan)