KABUL (SW) – A number of sociologists and psychologists call the result of the Salam Watandar survey on women facing violence as shocking and say that the continuation of this situation can have destructive effects on the next generations.
The survey findings of the Salam Afghanistan Media Organization (Salam Watandar Radio) based on the interviews with 326 women in 27 provinces show that 250 of these women, who constitute 77% of the statistical population of this survey, have faced violence.
Sharafuddin Azimi, a psychologist, says that if a woman does not have mental health, she cannot be a good person to others therefore, to break the cycle of violence, awareness should be spread widely. He adds: “Women who are subjected to violence from any aspect or are victims will have problems in the short and long term. In the short term, they get frustrated, upset, have trouble sleeping, get tired, worn out, their relationships are damaged, they turn to aggression, and in the long term, they even turn to suicide, drugs, prostitution, and crimes.”
Meanwhile, Zia Nikzad, a sociologist, also says that violence against women in the country can have multi-layered unfortunate consequences on the society. It breaks the bonds of families and causes deep divisions in the society, he said. “Violence makes women stay away from social, cultural and political arenas because when there is violence, a woman cannot be a decision-maker alone, and it causes women to be isolated, and the whole society will be unsafe for women.”
On the other hand, women’s rights activists, expressing concern about the increasing growth of violence against women in the country, say that imposing restrictions on women’s education and activities has caused the range of violence to increase. They want the caretaker government to take practical steps to curb this phenomenon.
Soudabe Nuristani, a women’s rights activist, says: “If violence occurs and no action is taken against it, it causes many problems. If the level of violence increases, family problems will increase and even disrupt the state of society.”
A number of defense lawyers consider the dissolution of women’s support mechanisms in judicial institutions as one of the reasons that have caused women to face more violence. They say that the responsibility of the judicial institutions of any country is to ensure the human rights of its citizens and it is necessary to identify the vulnerable sectors and women as half of the society should be under legal protection.
Noor Agha Shoaib, one of the legal activists and defense lawyer, says: “Definitely, the violence has increased because there is neither work, nor educational, and these issues are the reason for the rise of violence against women, and it is the government’s responsibility to find out what challenges there are and whether human rights issues are respected or not.”
Rejecting Salam Watandar’s survey, officials at the Ministry of Promoting Virtues and Prohibiting the Evil say that the situation of women in Afghanistan is progressing normally.
Mohammad Akif Mohajer, the spokesperson of this ministry, says that the rights of women in the country are better than ever and the officials of this ministry always inform the citizens about the value and place of women. According to him, if a woman is subjected to violence, her case will be dealt with within the framework of Islamic Sharia.
He adds: “I reject the statistics you give and I do not accept them at all because there is no such thing and Amir al-Mu’minin values this kind of events and a special order has been issued to the courts in this regard and an order has been given to give priority to women’s cases and the Ministry of Promoting Virtues and Prohibiting the Evil has ordered all its departments. It is that no one has the right to oppress women and waste women’s rights, or harass them, or not give them inheritance and dowry because women are also a part of society, just as men have rights, women are also given rights, and no one is given the right to waste women’s rights.”
Maulvi Rashid, the head of publication at the Supreme Court, says that since the establishment of the Islamic Emirate until now, 142 cases of violence against women have been reported in this department. He adds: “Yes, the issue of violence against women still exists. In the year 1401, 142 cases were reported, of which 116 cases were resolved.”
ENDS
