KABUL (SW) – The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission has expressed concerns over cases of sexual harassment at work for women in Afghan Security and Defense Forces.
In its 2019 report on ‘Women in Afghan Security and Defense Forces’, the AIHRC has conducted interviews with 2272 women in the ANDSF across Afghanistan, focused on their experiences as members of security forces, & human rights violations they face.
According to the report, majority of the respondents (79.8%) were between 18-40 years old. It said some 48.8% of respondents claimed that they have unequal access to facilities, rights, and privileges compared to their male counterparts.
Areas where respondents claimed unequal access or treatment were promotion, annual leave, work facilities and functional and safe toilets. 43.4% of those who complained about unequal access (477 of respondents) have specifically referred to lack of access to functional and safe toilets. The figures indicated that the majority of respondents (84.4%) felt safe at work. Only 6.6% of respondents said they have experienced sexual harassment at work. However, when team asked questions about specific forms of sexual harassment, this figure rose to 14.4%.
ENDS
