NCJ Number
198969
Date Published
December 2002
Length
51 pages
Annotation
This Human Rights Watch report describes the treatment of women in Western Afghanistan under the rule of local governor, Ismail Khan.
Abstract
According to the report, it has been widely assumed that the plight of women in Afghanistan would vastly improve after the fall of the Taliban in late 2001. Contrary to expectations, the current government in the province of Herat, which is under the governance of Ismail Khan, continues to restrict women and to subject them to frequent acts of violence in order to maintain its control over women. The report describes the many restrictions women are subjected to, including denying women freedom of movement and participation in government at any level. However, Khan projects to the international community that his government is granting women human and civil rights, pointing out that women now have better access to education and are not publicly beaten in the streets. The Human Rights Watch maintains that despite the government’s claims otherwise, women are denied even the most fundamental of human rights, particularly in the city of Herat. Furthermore, the report claims that the international community, including the United States, has failed to protect Afghan women and demand that their human and civil rights be granted. The report draws on data from more than 120 interviews, which were conducted between September and November 2002 in the city of Herat. The authors point out that many people who agreed to speak with the Human Rights Watch interviewers were later subjected to acts of violence.