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Afghanistan: 400 women and girls imprisoned for “moral crimes”

last updated May 30, 2012

On Monday 28 March 2012, Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report concerning the imprisonment of women and girls for so called “moral crimes” in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan News HRW
Source: HRW

The report, which is based on interviews with inmates of prisons and juvenile detention facilities, outlines the situation of girls and women who are victims of “a justice system stacked against them at every stage” even ten years after the fall of the Taliban government.


HRW reports that almost every girl in juvenile detention and half of the women in prisons were arrested for “moral crimes”. These “crimes” include fleeing from an unlawful forced marriage or domestic violence or even being raped or forced into prostitution, and are often based on complaint of a husband or relative. “Virtually none of the cases had led even to an investigation of the abuse”, HRW says and “prosecutors ignore evidence that supports women’s assertions of innocence”.


Therefore HRW urges the United States and other donor countries to exert pressure on the Afghan Government regarding women’s rights and calls the Afghan Government to end the practice of imprisonment of women for “moral crimes”.


HRW: Afghanistan: Hundreds of Women, Girls Jailed for ‘Moral Crimes’


HRW (2012) Report: “I HAD TO RUN AWAY”: The Imprisonment of Women and Girls for “Moral Crimes” in Afghanistan

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