Afghan women in peril, UN says
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UNITED NATIONS - Women in Afghanistan are the targets of increasing violence and other human rights abuses that President Hamid Karzai’s government is doing little to stop, the United Nations says.
“The limited space that opened up for Afghan women following the demise of the Taliban regime in 2001 is under sustained attack, not just by the Taliban themselves, but by deeply engrained cultural practices and customs,’’ UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said.
A 32-page report released yesterday described a “chronic failure at all levels of government to advance the protection of women’s rights.’’ It cited a culture of impunity for perpetrators of attacks and the government’s failure to criminalize rape or submit a report on discrimination against women that is five years overdue. The UN said violence against women is stifling economic development.
The UN recommended the government explicitly condemn violence against women and criminalize rape.
