In Afghanistan, 231 cases of women being killed have been registered since the Taliban came to power, but in more than one in five cases, the death was officially ruled a suicide. This is according to an investigation by The Guardian and Zan Times.
The journalists examined cases in ten of the country's 34 provinces since August 2021. The sample included 174 cases reported by local media and 57 episodes identified by the journalists themselves. Of the 231 deaths, 53 were ruled suicides, although in some cases relatives and witnesses alleged violence.
In total, 58 arrests were recorded, and only about one in four murders led to the detention of a suspect. Some of those detained were soon released. The highest number of cases was registered in Jawzjan (36), Herat (32), Badakhshan (28), and Ghazni (26). The victims ranged in age from five to 65, and 165 women were housewives with no independent income or access to institutions through which they could seek protection.
One such case was the death of 33-year-old Lisa Shams in February. Before her death, she told relatives that her husband beat her, including during pregnancy. After another beating, Lisa was taken to a Kabul hospital, where she died about an hour later. Medical documents recorded multiple fractures and facial injuries, but the cause of death was listed as possible rat poison poisoning. No autopsy was performed.
The investigation found that problems also arise when relatives try to protect women from violence. In Kandahar province, a 14-year-old girl was killed by her husband, to whom she had been married. Her younger brother, who tried to help his sister, was also shot and died a week later. The man, a member of the Taliban, was not arrested, although authorities opened a case.
The Taliban's new criminal code also provides for more severe consequences for a woman and her relatives in some situations than for the husband who committed violence. For beating a wife until visible injuries appear, a husband may face up to 15 days in prison. If a wife goes to relatives without her husband's permission and the family refuses to return her at his request, the woman and her relatives may face up to three months in prison.
After the Taliban returned to power, the Ministry of Women's Affairs, the special prosecutor's office for violence against women, and the network of shelters were abolished. About 250 female judges were removed from their positions, and female prosecutors were sent home. Additionally, women can no longer independently act as parties in their own court cases.
The investigation's authors emphasize that the 231 cases do not reflect the total number of women killed in Afghanistan. Journalists worked in only ten provinces and faced threats when trying to contact relatives of the deceased. They say the collected data only shows the scale of the problem and how the lack of protection and impunity can contribute to new crimes.
Even before the Taliban's return, the level of violence against women in Afghanistan was significantly higher than the global average. According to UN Women, in 2018, nearly 35% of Afghan women reported partner violence in the previous year, compared to a global average of 13%.
Source: podrobno.uz