UPR Sexual Rights Database

National Report:
Para 11) The GIRoA, within the past four years has taken various legal actions, the purpose of which were respecting and observing women’s rights and preventing all types of discriminatory acts against women. One of such measures is reviewing the following enforced laws for the purpose of observing women’s rights:
Laws, regulations and strategies including the Civil Code, Penal Code, Shiite Personal Status Law, Education Law, Public Health Law, Law on Elimination of Violence against Women, Law on Abduction and Human Trafficking, Law on Rights and Privileges of the Person with Disability, Interim Criminal Procedure Code, Citizenship Law, Law on Registration of Social Organizations Document, Electoral Law, Public Media Law, Regulation on Supporting and Promoting Breastfeeding, Law on Prisons and Detention Centers, Regulation on Prisons and Detention Centers, Law on Political Parties, Law on Strikes and Demonstrations, Pension Regulation for Arrangement of Pension Rights, Regulation on Scholarships and Education Abroad, National Development Strategy, Justice Strategy for All, Millennium Development Goals, National Health Strategy, and NAPWA were reviewed comparatively and article by article in the light of Convention on Prevention of All Types of Discrimination against Women.
Para 13) The draft of Shiite Personal Status Law was reviewed by Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MoWA) and 12 amendments were recommended based on Afghan Constitution to Ministry of Justice (MoJ) prior to its signing and the recommended amendments were considered and included in the this law.
Para 14) The draft of Shiite Personal Status Law was reviewed by MoWA to ensure that it conforms to the international commitments of the Government.
Para 56) A number of serious and practical actions were taken in the direction of law enforcement and protection of women’s rights during the past four years. For example the establishment of Special Prosecution Office for Elimination of Violence against Women is one of important practical measures. The establishment of Human Rights Protection Unit of the MoJ as an inter-ministerial mechanism and establishment of human rights units in some other ministries and establishment of gender units in 22 ministries with the financial and technical support of the international community, extended efforts in establishment of infrastructure for the improvement of human rights situation in the country, preparation of NAPWA pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution 1325 are also a number of effectives measures that were adopted by the GIRoA. The MoFA has taken positive steps for improvement of human rights and the establishment of infrastructure.
Para 63) In order to improve the situation of women, the GIRoA has approved two laws, namely the Law on Elimination of Violence against Women and the Shiite Personal Status Law during the past four years. The GIRoA acknowledges that although these laws have not fully improved the situation of women in the country, it believes that these laws have had relatively positive impacts. It has also drafted the Law on Social Support for the improvement of the situation of women and is awaiting approval of the parliament.

National Report:
Para 130) According to the civil law of Afghanistan, the marriage age is different for boys and girls. The marriage age for girls is 16 and for boys it’s 18, as mentioned in the Official Gazette (353/1976). The marriage of a girl under 15 is not permitted.
Para 131) To amend the age of marriage within the Civil Code in accordance with the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. MoJ has prepared a law draft on family protection that will amend the marriage age for both girls and boys to be 18 years old. This draft will be passed by parliament in the near future.
Para 132) MoHRA has issued 11 Fatwas (religious orders) from 2015 till 2018 dealing with the prohibition of child marriage.

UN Compilation:
Para 43) The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) observed that women and girls continued to face persistent discrimination, violence, street harassment, forced and child marriage, severe restrictions on working and studying outside the home and limited access to justice. It noted that the Elimination of Violence against Women Law had the potential to contribute to improving women’s access to justice, provided it was effectively implemented.
Para 45) OHCHR/UNAMA noted that harmful acts of violence against women, including murder, beating, mutilation, child marriage and ba’ad, remained widespread, despite the Government’s concrete efforts to criminalize those practices and establish measures for accountability. Harmful practices that had been criminalized under the Elimination of Violence against Women Law, such as forced and child marriage, honour killings, ba’ad, badal (the exchange of women for marriage purposes to settle disputes) and forced self-immolation, were often confused as being aspects of Islamic law or teachings and therefore ingrained in the local traditions. The Mission documented 280 cases of murder and “honour killings” of women from January 2016 to December 2017. It found that the police had often failed to forward those cases to prosecutors. The majority of Afghan women continued to be denied fair treatment before the law, as discriminatory provisions in laws and policies were still prevalent. As such, law enforcement and other judicial practitioners, including prosecutors and courts, had often failed to enforce the Elimination of Violence against Women Law, resulting in widespread impunity for the criminal acts of violence against women. OHCHR/UNAMA consistently found that implementation of the Elimination of Violence against Women Law had been slow and non-uniform.
Para 54) The Secretary-General of the United Nations … was also concerned by the widespread phenomenon of the forced and early marriages of girls,

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 10) AIHRC noted that violence against women is one of the most serious violations of human rights. During 2014-2017, AIHRC registered, investigated and followed around 19,920 cases of violence against women and referred them to the relevant legal entities. Out of these cases, 845 cases were cases of women who were murdered. The real statistics of women's violence and murders are much higher. The prosecution and punishment of perpetrators of violence against women by government agencies, as well as the implementation of the EVAW Law and the Law for the Prevention of the Sexual Harassment against Women and Children have been ineffectively done and challenges remained unchanged. Statistics showed that the government and the law enforcement agencies have failed to properly and timely investigate cases of violence against women and cases of murder. AIHRC attributed that insecurity, corruption, the increased culture of impunity, lack of rule of law, the spread of harmful custom and tradition in society, lack of awareness of people of the law and human rights, poverty and economic problems are among the factors of violence against women which have not been adequately and practically addressed by the government. AIHRC reported that Taliban also continued to commit killings and extra judicial and arbitrary punishment of women in the area of under their control. AIHRC recalled that under Resolution 1325 and the SDGs, the government has to accelerate the process of gender mainstreaming in the departments.
Para 11) … Early marriages of children under the age of 15, despite its legal prohibition, remained a major challenge for children. The numbers of the victims of early marriage is higher as many victims do not have the ability, awareness, facilities and the opportunity to refer to relevant institutions for filing a case. The main reasons for underage marriage, the victim of which is generally girls, are social, cultural and economic factors, as well as informal justice problems.
Para 34) HRW noted that violence against women, including rape, murder, mutilation and assault is widespread, and the perpetrators are rarely brought to justice. In the 2014 UPR, the Afghanistan delegation accepted numerous recommendations on improving implementation of the 2009 Law on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (EVAW law), including the measures recommended to Afghanistan by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women in July 2013. During the review, the Afghan delegation committed to implement the EVAW law, and that perpetrators of violence against women would be prosecuted and punished. However, HRW found that Afghan women seeking justice after facing violence continue to face formidable obstacles. Afghan authorities routinely turn victims away or pressure them to accept mediation. Mediation does not provide justice to female victims of serious crimes, offering victims only a promise from her abuser not to repeat the crime. In some case, mediators themselves inflict abuse, for example by ordering girls or women to be given as compensation for murder, forcing women and girls to marry men who raped them, or excusing murder in the name of “honor.” Afghan police and prosecutors continue to jail women and girls for on charges of “moral crimes” that include “running away” from home, and committing or attempting to commit sexual intercourse outside marriage “zina”, or having sex outside of marriage. Rape victims can be charged with “zina” and imprisoned. These girls and women are subjected to invasive vaginal and anal examinations performed by Afghan government doctors, sometimes repeatedly on the same girl or woman including young girls. Afghan officials claimed that the government had since banned the examinations, but officials have told HRW that the practice remained widespread, and many judges, prosecutors, and police officials told them that they routinely order “virginity tests.”
Para 35) ODVV also noted that one of the most serious human rights violations in Afghanistan is violence against women, particularly girls. In 2017 there were 4340 cases of violence against 2286 women. This is while in the previous year there were approximately 2046 reported cases of violence against women. These figures indicate that not only violence against women in Afghanistan has not dropped, but the abuses have increased. There have also been report of 277 women being murdered, while only 40 of them have been prosecuted. This shows a weakness in enforcing the law, additionally, victims’ families’ were reluctant to file a complaint against perpetrators of crimes. ODVV was also concerned that the government has still not taken any practical action against forced marriage of girls and or legally underage marriages. …

National Report:
Para 26) The GoIRA protects and promotes human rights by strengthening and establishing human rights units within the power structures as following:
…
• Judiciary Power: Division of Violence Against Women and Children in the Supreme Court review all cases of women and children rights violations;
Para 105) The Criminal Procedure Code 2014 and Penal Code 2018 have been ratified. Discriminatory human rights violating elements have been taken out and new provisions regarding protection of women’s rights were included. The criminal procedures law enriches specific provisions on the victim’s rights and protection of evidence. Beside the new penal code, the EVAW Law still remains enforced and the cases related to violence against women will be reviewed in accordance with this specific law.
Para 106) Different measures for better implementation of the EVAW Law have been taken in to account. These measures include the establishment of institutions, policies, regulations, training of judges, prosecutors, police, and other relevant employees as well as legal awareness campaigns for citizens. The AGO plans to draft a National Action Plan for the Implementation of EVAW Law in near future.
Para 107) Following mechanisms are in place:
• Monthly meetings of the EVAW high commission and provincial commissions of all 34 provinces to monitor critical areas. Findings are being submitted to the relevant government departments and the President’s office. Establishment of 28 women’s shelters centers in Kabul and 20 in different provinces.
• Establishment of special units at all 34 Provincial Office of Attorney’s for EVAW cases. In 31 provinces, units are just being led by women.
• Establishment of special EVAW units at the Supreme Court in Kabul and 15 provinces.
• Legal assistance centers and family dispute resolution units were established in 34 provinces under the police headquarters framework.
• A mediation department has been established at the AGO to mediate in family matters.
• The Supreme Court established special courts for EVAW cases in 22 provinces. Till 2020 all provinces will be having a special court for EVAW cases.
• A telephone hotline has been established for women and children in case of violence.
• On 11th of July 2016, the MoI established a complaint mechanism to prevent and respond to sexual harassment against women police officers.
Para 108) The AGO established a Deputy AGO for Elimination of Violence against Women & Children, which is led by a woman. This office has two sub-departments responsible for reducing violence against women and for its social consultants. Another department deals with women rights, victims and witnesses with help of IDLO.
Para 109) The Afghanistan AGO established a monitoring mechanism on the implementation of EVAW law within its offices.
Para 110) With support of IDLO the AGO established a database within the Deputy AGO for EVAW. This database includes all activities of prosecutors, the case itself and the work which has been done so far. Through this database, the Deputy GA can monitor his employees and held them accountable if needed.
Para 111) Between 2014 and 2018, 5921 cases have been investigated. 4840 cases of violence against women have been addressed in the three-layer courts of the country based on the provisions of EVAW.

UN Compilation:
Para 25) OHCHR/UNAMA noted that the ongoing armed conflict affected women’s access to justice. The Mission noted that the failure of law enforcement authorities to take action undermined efforts to promote the rights of women, eroded the rule of law and contributed to an expectation of impunity. It observed that the gap in relation to the available range of punishments for criminal offences of violence against women contributed to the wide use of mediation. The Mission highlighted that the wide use of mediation in criminal offences of violence against women also promoted impunity, enabled its reoccurrence, eroded trust in the legal system and constituted a human rights violation on the part of Afghanistan.
Para 42) The Committee against Torture remained deeply concerned by the high prevalence of violence against women, in particular domestic violence, rape, battery, laceration, crimes committed in the name of “honour” and cases of stoning.
Para 44) The Secretary-General of the United Nations noted the decree amending the Penal Code with regard to crimes of violence against women ...
Para 45) OHCHR/UNAMA noted that harmful acts of violence against women, including murder, beating, mutilation, child marriage and ba’ad, remained widespread, despite the Government’s concrete efforts to criminalize those practices and establish measures for accountability. Harmful practices that had been criminalized under the Elimination of Violence against Women Law, such as forced and child marriage, honour killings, ba’ad, badal (the exchange of women for marriage purposes to settle disputes) and forced self-immolation, were often confused as being aspects of Islamic law or teachings and therefore ingrained in the local traditions. The Mission documented 280 cases of murder and “honour killings” of women from January 2016 to December 2017. It found that the police had often failed to forward those cases to prosecutors. The majority of Afghan women continued to be denied fair treatment before the law, as discriminatory provisions in laws and policies were still prevalent. As such, law enforcement and other judicial practitioners, including prosecutors and courts, had often failed to enforce the Elimination of Violence against Women Law, resulting in widespread impunity for the criminal acts of violence against women. OHCHR/UNAMA consistently found that implementation of the Elimination of Violence against Women Law had been slow and non-uniform.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 10) AIHRC noted that violence against women is one of the most serious violations of human rights. During 2014-2017, AIHRC registered, investigated and followed around 19,920 cases of violence against women and referred them to the relevant legal entities. Out of these cases, 845 cases were cases of women who were murdered. The real statistics of women's violence and murders are much higher. The prosecution and punishment of perpetrators of violence against women by government agencies, as well as the implementation of the EVAW Law and the Law for the Prevention of the Sexual Harassment against Women and Children have been ineffectively done and challenges remained unchanged. Statistics showed that the government and the law enforcement agencies have failed to properly and timely investigate cases of violence against women and cases of murder. AIHRC attributed that insecurity, corruption, the increased culture of impunity, lack of rule of law, the spread of harmful custom and tradition in society, lack of awareness of people of the law and human rights, poverty and economic problems are among the factors of violence against women which have not been adequately and practically addressed by the government. AIHRC reported that Taliban also continued to commit killings and extra judicial and arbitrary punishment of women in the area of under their control. AIHRC recalled that under Resolution 1325 and the SDGs, the government has to accelerate the process of gender mainstreaming in the departments.
Para 34) HRW noted that violence against women, including rape, murder, mutilation and assault is widespread, and the perpetrators are rarely brought to justice. In the 2014 UPR, the Afghanistan delegation accepted numerous recommendations on improving implementation of the 2009 Law on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (EVAW law), including the measures recommended to Afghanistan by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women in July 2013. During the review, the Afghan delegation committed to implement the EVAW law, and that perpetrators of violence against women would be prosecuted and punished. However, HRW found that Afghan women seeking justice after facing violence continue to face formidable obstacles. Afghan authorities routinely turn victims away or pressure them to accept mediation. Mediation does not provide justice to female victims of serious crimes, offering victims only a promise from her abuser not to repeat the crime. In some case, mediators themselves inflict abuse, for example by ordering girls or women to be given as compensation for murder, forcing women and girls to marry men who raped them, or excusing murder in the name of “honor.” Afghan police and prosecutors continue to jail women and girls for on charges of “moral crimes” that include “running away” from home, and committing or attempting to commit sexual intercourse outside marriage “zina”, or having sex outside of marriage. Rape victims can be charged with “zina” and imprisoned. These girls and women are subjected to invasive vaginal and anal examinations performed by Afghan government doctors, sometimes repeatedly on the same girl or woman including young girls. Afghan officials claimed that the government had since banned the examinations, but officials have told HRW that the practice remained widespread, and many judges, prosecutors, and police officials told them that they routinely order “virginity tests.”
Para 35) ODVV also noted that one of the most serious human rights violations in Afghanistan is violence against women, particularly girls. In 2017 there were 4340 cases of violence against 2286 women. This is while in the previous year there were approximately 2046 reported cases of violence against women. These figures indicate that not only violence against women in Afghanistan has not dropped, but the abuses have increased. There have also been report of 277 women being murdered, while only 40 of them have been prosecuted. This shows a weakness in enforcing the law, additionally, victims’ families’ were reluctant to file a complaint against perpetrators of crimes.