{"id":5969,"date":"2015-04-07T14:42:23","date_gmt":"2015-04-07T12:42:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/openasia.org\/en\/?p=5969"},"modified":"2015-04-07T14:42:23","modified_gmt":"2015-04-07T12:42:23","slug":"amnesty-report-women-human-rights-defenders-under-attack-in-afghanistan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/openasia.org\/en\/2015\/04\/amnesty-report-women-human-rights-defenders-under-attack-in-afghanistan\/","title":{"rendered":"Amnesty Report: Women Human Rights Defenders Under Attack In Afghanistan"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Untitled\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Source: Amnesty International<\/a><\/p>\n

Afghanistan: Government and international community turning their back on women human rights defenders<\/p>\n

Women human rights defenders in Afghanistan who face mounting violence – including threats, sexual assault and assassinations- are being abandoned by their own government despite the significant gains they have fought to achieve, Amnesty International said in a new report today.<\/p>\n

Their Lives On The Line documents how champions for the rights of women and girls, including doctors, teachers, lawyers, police and journalists as well as activists have been targeted not just by the Taliban but by warlords and government officials as well. Laws meant to support them are poorly implemented, if at all, while the international community is doing far too little to ease their plight.<\/p>\n

Rights defenders have suffered car bombings, grenade attacks on homes, killing of family members and targeted assassinations. Many continue their work despite suffering multiple attacks, in the full knowledge that no action will be taken against the perpetrators.<\/p>\n

\u201cWomen human rights defenders from all walks of life have fought bravely for some significant gains over the past 14 years \u2013 many have even paid with their lives. It\u2019s outrageous that Afghan authorities are leaving them to fend for themselves. , with their situation more dangerous than ever,\u201d said Salil Shetty, Amnesty International\u2019s Secretary General, in Kabul to launch the report.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the troop withdrawal nearly complete, too many in the international community seem happy to sweep Afghanistan under the carpet. We cannot simply abandon this country and those who put their lives on the line for human rights, including women\u2019s rights.\u201d<\/p>\n

There has been significant international investment to support Afghan women, including efforts to strengthen women\u2019s rights. But too much of it has been piecemeal and ad hoc, and much of the aid money is drying up.<\/p>\n

While Taliban are responsible for the majority of attacks against women defenders, government officials or powerful local commanders with the authorities\u2019 backing are increasingly implicated in violence and threats against women.<\/p>\n

As one woman defender explained: \u201cThe threats now come from all sides: it\u2019s difficult to identify the enemies. They could be family, security agencies, Taliban, politicians.\u201d<\/p>\n

Based on interviews with more than 50 women defenders and their family members across the country, Amnesty International found a consistent pattern of authorities ignoring or refusing to take seriously threats against women. Few investigations were carried out, while prosecutions and convictions were even rarer. In many cases, women defenders who reported violence or attacks were put at further risk, facing stigmatization or threats simply for speaking out.<\/p>\n

No woman in public life is safe \u2013 those facing threats and violence range from rights activists, politicians, lawyers, journalists, teachers. Even women in the police force are under threat, where sexual harassment and bullying is rife and almost always goes unpunished.<\/p>\n

In eastern Laghman province, Dr Shah Bibi is the director of the Department of Women\u2019s Affairs, and continues her work to strengthen women\u2019s rights despite multiple death threats having forced her to move to a different province.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery day when I leave home I think that I will not return alive and my children are as scared as I am about a possible Taliban attack against me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr Bibi\u2019s two predecessors \u2013 Najia Sediqi and Hanifa Safi \u2013 were killed within six months of each other in 2012, by gunmen in broad daylight and in a car bombing respectively. In a familiar story, relatives told Amnesty International how regular death threats had been met with no response by authorities, despite the women\u2019s repeated pleas for protection. No one has been held responsible for their killings.<\/p>\n

Despite the existence of a legal framework to protect women in Afghanistan \u2013 much of it thanks to tireless campaigning by women\u2019s rights activists themselves \u2013 laws are often badly enforced and remain mere paper promises.<\/p>\n

The landmark Elimination of Violence against Women (EVAW) Law, passed in 2009, remains unevenly enforced and has only led to a limited number of convictions. Amnesty International\u2019s investigation found that a lack of political will on the part of Afghan authorities means that government bodies and officials charged with protecting women are under-resourced and lack the support to carry out their work.<\/p>\n

Added to this is a common acceptance of violence against women and girls as a \u201cnormal\u201d part of life, and limits to their ability to participate freely in public life.<\/p>\n

Amnesty International made a number of calls in the report. Protection, especially for those in rural areas, is essential; there must be no discrimination in the level of protection; there must be prosecutions, using appropriate legislation. The culture of harassment in public institutions must be addressed, and the authorities must challenge attitudes which lead to abuses.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Afghan government is turning a blind eye to the very real threat women human rights defenders are facing. These brave people \u2013 many of them simply doing their jobs – are the bulwark against the oppression and violence that is part of daily life for millions of women across the country. The government must ensure they are protected, not ignored,\u201d said Horia Mosadiq, Amnesty International\u2019s Afghanistan Researcher.<\/p>\n

While international governments have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into projects supporting women\u2019s rights since 2001, the approach has not gone far enough. Projects have too often focused on short-term gains, and been implemented without consulting women\u2019s activists themselves.<\/p>\n

With the international troop withdrawal near completion, even these fragile gains are under threat.<\/p>\n

The European Union Plus countries (EU plus additional diplomatic missions) has recently launched a programme that will, once operational, offer emergency protection and ongoing monitoring for rights defenders. However, the strategy has yet to be tested, and it remains to be seen how successfully it will be implemented.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfghanistan is facing an uncertain future, and is at arguably the most critical moment in its recent history. Now is not the time for international governments to walk away,\u201d said Salil Shetty.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe international community must step up with continued engagement and the Afghan government cannot continue to ignore its human rights obligations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Note to editors<\/p>\n

A full copy of the report and other supporting material can be found on this link:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/sh\/sl8x1wy00h7a0zw\/AACuSQs8CQ7oppLlyUtj3v6ea?dl=0<\/a><\/p>\n

The report is being launched with a press conference in Kabul, at the Kabul Star Hotel at 10am on Tuesday 7 April.<\/p>\n

For more information, AV material, to arrange an interview or to RSVP to the press conference, please contact:<\/p>\n

Olof Blomqvist, Asia Pacific Press Officer,\u00a0olof.blomqvist@amnesty.org<\/a>, UK mobile: +44 (0) 790 4397 956, Afghanistan mobile: +93 (0) 795 445 875<\/p>\n

Public Document
\nFor more information please call Amnesty International’s press office in London, UK, on
\n+44 20 7413 5566 or +44 (0)777 847 2126
\nemail:\u00a0press@amnesty.org<\/a>\u00a0twitter: @amnestypress
\nInternational Secretariat,Amnesty International, 1 Easton St., London WC1X 0DW, UK<\/p>\n

Download Executive Summary and Full Report HERE:\u00a0Amnesty WHRDs – Executive Summary<\/a> Amnesty WHRDs – Full Report<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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