Afghanistan - progress fails women
...exception of the heads of the juvenile and family courts in Kabul , women continue to be excluded from key positions in the judiciary. Where women do serve as judges, they do not perform the same functions as their male counterparts.
Amnesty International Women failed by progress in Afghanistan
The New Constitution guarantees fundamental equality
for men and women. However, implementing legislation is not yet in place and
there is a lack of both understanding and implementation of those rights that
are protected by law. Measures to protect women remain ineffective with a justice
system that is weak and ineffectual. The general population has little confidence
in the independence of the judiciary. This is particularly the case for women,
who have reported being further victimised by the legal system, through the
application of “customary law” that violates women’s human
rights.
With the exception of the heads of the juvenile and family courts in Kabul , women continue to be excluded from key positions in the judiciary. Where women do serve as judges, they do not perform the same functions as their male counterparts. Female judges tend to act in the capacity of judicial clerks and are rarely involved in the adjudication of cases. Female judges outside Kabul are rare. Efforts are underway to train police recruits to be aware of gender issues, but AI found that such training has been brief and perfunctory so far. AI has also received testimonies about bribery and corruption among police and of failure to follow up on cases involving violence against women. There are virtually no effective safeguards to protect women in custody.
A large number of women in Afghanistan continue to be imprisoned for committing so-called “zina” crimes. A female can be detained and prosecuted for adultery, running away from home or having consensual sex outside marriage, which are all referred to as zina crimes. The major factor preventing victims of rape complaining to the authorities is the fear that instead of being treated as a victim, they themselves will be prosecuted for unlawful sexual activity. During its recent visit, AI found that a large number of female inmates in prisons across Afghanistan are incarcerated for the crime of “running away” and for adultery, as well as for engaging in unlawful sexual activity. Amongst many judges and judicial officials, there was a prevailing lack of knowledge about the application of zina law.
In many instances, there was a lack of basic legal skills among legal professionals
interviewed. In addition, in relation to many offences, sentencing is left
to judges’ unfettered discretion and they often hand down arbitrary sentences
to women. A majority of imprisoned women have been charged or are imprisoned
for transgressing social norms and mores.
There is no effective mechanism for investigation of crimes against women and no confidence-building measures have been implemented to encourage women to come forward and report abuse. As a result, women do not report crimes committed against them because they fear imprisonment (especially in rape cases), harassment and discrimination from the police; violent reaction from the family; lack of support from the community and the lack of services for victims. In addition, the majority of women remain unaware of their legal rights and do not have the support of the community to pursue their cases.
Perpetrators of violence against women are rarely prosecuted and AI has evidence of judges making discriminatory remarks and humiliating women during court proceedings. There has been little noted pressure on the judiciary to uphold the rights of women and both opportunities and rights of women continue to be severely restricted throughout the country.This report has been somewhat shortened (WRI). 28 October 2004