Afghan women ‘most at risk’

Tuesday, December 08, 2009

AFGHAN women are among the worst off in the world, violence against them is "endemic" and Afghanistan’s government fails to protect them from crimes such as rape and murder, a rights group said yesterday.

Human Rights Watch said in a report the situation for women in Afghanistan is "dismal in every area".

The report cites cases where rapists have been pardoned by the government, girls and women have been imprisoned for running away from home, rape victims have been charged with adultery and where women in public life have been murdered.

This story appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Tuesday, December 08, 2009