WUNRN
REVISED AFGHAN CRIMINAL CODE LEGALIZES COMPLICITY
TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
Dr.
Massouda Jalal
Founding Chairperson, Jalal Foundation and
Former Minister of Women, the Islamic
Jalal
Foundation and its network strongly condemn the adoption of the provision in
the new Revised Criminal Code that prohibits relatives of accused criminals
from serving as witnesses during investigations and trials. We are also deeply
disappointed with the Parliament for playing deaf to the pleadings of women’s
groups to exclude this deleterious provision from the final version of the
Code. It is a painful manifestation of
their callousness to the plight of millions of Afghan women and children who
have to put up with abuses and violence from family members 24/7 throughout
their lifetime. How can these honorable leaders turn their backs against their
constituents who elected them to represent their interest and protect their
rights? This is worse than treason.
In the eyes of the people, fundamentalists and the government are now engaged in a happy collusion to claw back the gains on women’s rights that were generated during the past 13 years. While reports of violence against women (VAW) have increased by 28 percent in 2013,[1][1] and although there is a general apprehension that such increase would further soar after the departure of international security forces and the reduction of foreign assistance in the country, the Parliament still chose to aggravate the woes of the women population instead of reassuring them of government’s protection and support. We feel abandoned and betrayed.
This
provision of the new Revised Criminal Code practically screams at victims of
domestic violence to shut up because they will get no support from family
members and the State. This is
tantamount to driving victims to commit self-immolation and suicide, an act
that is listed as unlawful under the decree on the elimination of violence
against women. Such provision of the
Revised Criminal Code also equates to legalization of complicity among family
members to foment violence towards its helpless members. It is immoral, un-Islamic, and inconsistent
with the guarantees of equal rights and protection enshrined in the
Constitution. It looks like a prelude to
the many more anti-women laws that this institution is likely to churn out in
the days to come.
Local
studies show that the most number of VAW perpetrators in Afghanistan are
relatives of the victims. With the
provision of the Revised Criminal Code banning the testimonies of relatives
against each other, Afghan homes would inevitably evolve as the most unsafe
place to live for Afghan women. It
gives offenders greater ammunition to escape punishment and it legitimizes
impunity to commit domestic violence.
We
call upon President Hamid Karzai to desist from signing this Revised Criminal
Code into a law and to veto such provision that will nullify all his
achievements on women’s rights. Do not
let this provision become an ugly legacy for which you will be blamed and
shamed even by the many generations to come. We also call upon the
international community, global women’s rights activists, and human rights
bodies to immediately express their opposition to this provision. Women, girls, students, boys and men who
value the Afghan tradition of family solidarity and harmony should all lobby
with the President to desist from signing it.
Mr.
President, you have nothing more to lose and everything to gain at this point
in time. Allow us to remember you as a
leader who used the last days of your administration to protect our rights. You
owe it to us, to yourself, and the generations to come.