A new inquiry report issued by the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission on rape and honor killing gives alarming number of victims. Released on Sunday, the report says 406 cases of honor killings and sexual assaults have been registered, out of which 243 cases are honor killings and 163 cases are identified as sexual assault cases.
The report includes an inquiry of 127 cases of sexual assault and honor killings. It further says the most common honor killings are committed for sexual relation outside marriage. Almost 50 percent of honor killings are committed as a result of out of marriage relations between a woman and a man “attempting sexual relations (Zena)”. Both cases are interconnected. Women accused of extramarital affairs are considered to bring dishonor to the family and tribe, therefore condemned to death in many areas of the country as a common traditional and cultural practice.
The report further says that in many cases, judicial organs in Afghanistan also consider victims of sexual assaults as criminals and condemn them. The honor killing category is not limited to violence related to extramarital affairs, but include escaping from homes and other. The report says escaping of women from home is not considered as a crime according to laws in Afghanistan, but it can cause honor killing sometimes. Almost 15.4 percent of honor killings documented by the national inquiry program are committed because a woman or a girl had escaped from home. Similarly 3.8 percent of the cases occurred for not accepting forced marriage and 1.9 percent of the cases happened to expressing willingness to get married to someone.
Human rights organizations have been urging the government to take steps to end the unlawful imprisonment of women and girls accused of running away from their homes. About 70 percent of the approximately 700 female prisoners in prisons have been imprisoned for running away, nearly always for fleeing forced marriage or domestic violence.
The government should release all those held in charges for escaping from forced marriages and so-called moral crimes. Fleeing home is not a crime under the criminal code, but courts treat such women who escape home due to forced marriages and domestic violence as criminals.
The horrifying number of honor killings is a national tragedy. Those who always beat the drums of honor and religious values should come forward against this social menace in strong terms and condemn it openly to stop such a horrible cultural practice. The government should strictly implement laws on honor killings and punish the perpetrators of such crimes.