A new law that may hold out hope to women caught in a cycle of violence was discussed for the first time in the Afghan parliament on Saturday, October 24.
The law was drafted by the Ministry of Women Affairs (MOWA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), and contains 44 articles. The law has already been signed by the president on July 20, before being discussed by the parliament. But it is expected to be approved by parliament in the near future.
According to Fauzia Koofi, a female parliamentarian, the law criminalizes several acts of violence, such as rape.
“This is a major change,” she said. “It is a positive development in preventing violence against women across the country.”
Experts point to several factors which contribute to violence against women in Afghanistan, including incorrect interpretations of Islam, extremely conservative cultural traditions, some social customs that have a detrimental effect on women, as well as poverty.
Some of the most common acts of violence against women are forced and underage marriages, trafficking, rape, and self-immolation. The new law proposes to tackle the issue head-on.
Yousuf Halim, director of the legislation department at Ministry of Justice, says that this law is unprecedented in Afghanistan.
“The law clarifies and modifies 21 types of violence that were not in previous laws,” he said.
Muhammad Ashraf Jaleb, who deals with the penal code, also commented on the law’s departure from previous legislation.
“This is absolutely new and unprecedented in the penal code,” he said. “The punishment has been considered according to the crime.”
However some parliamentarians and representatives of civil society pointed out some issues that had been overlooked in the law.
Ali Raza Rohani believes that at least three conditions of physical or mental violence against women have not been included in the law.
“There is no mention of honor killings, forced marriage, or depriving women of their political rights, such as forbidding them from participating in elections,” he said.
The law should also protect women’s mental well-being, he added.
In this law, the issue of penalties was also controversial.
Some of the participants in the conference wanted to see severe punishment mandated for violators, but Zarif Stanikzai, member of Afghanistan Advocacy Association, insisted that there should be more attention and accuracy over the correspondence of crime to punishment.
While Many MPs and civil society organizations who participated in the conference hailed the law, they all expressed concerns over the parliament’s approval of law at the parliament and its implementation.
“We should facilitate the culture of acceptance of the law in society prior to the approval and implementation,” said Daud Sultanzoi, an MP from Ghazni, “Otherwise; there is no guarantee that the law will be enforced. It will remain on paper, like all the others.”
