Strengthening Women’s Rights and Combating Violence in Afghanistan

Message on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

Keypoints:

• Recognition: Violence against women is a major societal issue.
• Religious & Legal: Islam and the Afghan Constitution forbid it.
• Awareness: Society must reject all forms of violence.
• Education: Schools must teach respect and condemn violence.
• Legal Protection: Laws and enforcement must be strong and effective.
• Equality & Safety: Women have the right to dignity and security.
• Cultural Change: Discrimination and marginalization must end.
• Shared Responsibility: Government, scholars, and society must act.

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Despite the progress human civilization has achieved and the remarkable milestones reached to date, the inhumane phenomenon of violence against women has yet to be eradicated from human society. This phenomenon, rooted in various factors, has resulted in the victimization of thousands of innocent women and girls and has cast a shadow over the lives of a great many people.

Violence against women is a profound challenge for human society, which unfortunately is seen more frequently in underdeveloped and illiterate communities. Although the holy religion of Islam, the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, and the noble values of our society by no means permit violence against women, we see in practice that this unfortunate phenomenon still exists like a contagious disease in our villages, cities, homes, and workplaces, acting as an obstacle to the betterment of social life.

The struggle against violence against women and its eradication from human life is among our religious responsibilities, moral duties, and national obligations—steps toward which must be effective and fundamental. The first step in this direction is awareness. We must repeatedly speak of the ugliness and harm of violence against women so that the collective consciousness and public psyche view its rejection as a self-evident truth. Education must also be utilized; textbooks should include themes condemning violence, and violence against women should be critiqued as one of the most hideous forms of aggression. Likewise, specific laws must be established to prevent violence, and our country's legal structures must possess clear mechanisms to counter violent acts against women.

A woman, as a human being and as a peer to man, enjoys equal rights; she has the right to live in total physical and psychological security, to lead a peaceful life, and to pursue the realization of her desires and the flourishing of her talents without facing obstacles. Violence is not summarized only in harsh physical encounters; rather, any discriminatory gaze based on gender that leads to the marginalization of women in society, deprives them of legal rights, or imposes difficult physical or mental conditions upon them is considered a manifestation of violence.

Afghanistan will find relief from its fundamental problems only when a "human-centric" view of women is strengthened and generalized, when her dignity and honor are fully recognized, when signs of discrimination vanish from the culture, and when no trace of violence against women remains.

The criterion for evaluating any society—and the way to discern its enjoyment of human virtues—is the immunity of its women from violence and the level of happiness and peace they experience. A society in which a woman is recognized as a "weak class" and is subsequently subjected to coercion and suppression—being deprived of the right to education, work, custody, and her other religious and legal rights—conforms neither to religious values nor to human standards of equality.

Although a sinister result of the ongoing imposed war by terrorists against Afghanistan is violence against women, fortunately, our Constitution has provided the ground for human rights to receive more attention than ever before and for the struggle against violence to gain momentum. Today, Afghan society is moving with full force toward the requirements of the Constitution in the field of human rights.

The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan has signed international covenants, treaties, and conventions on women's rights and considers itself obligated, as a member of the international community, to fulfill its Islamic, human, and legal obligations regarding women's human rights, particularly in the fight against violence.

In the past three years of the National Unity Government, Afghanistan's laws have been drafted with a focus on women's human rights. Today, within the framework of the Supreme Court, we have a specialized court for the prosecution of cases of violence against women. Similarly, a special deputy office operates within the Attorney General's Office to prevent injustice and violence against women, with branches in various provinces. It is the shared duty of the government, the esteemed Ulema (scholars), civil society, and all defenders of human rights to perform their Islamic and human duty in the best possible way against the ugly phenomenon of violence against women.