The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) Celebrates International Day on Elimination of Violence Against Women

On December 05, 2017, AGO celebrated International Day on Elimination of Violence Against Women in AGO building Shahr-e- Naw with the participation of Deputy Attorney General (DAG) for Elimination of Violence Against Women, Juvenile Violations and Human Rights Support, Ms. Seena Shina Mansoor, Senior Legal Advisor of the International Development Law Organization (IDLO), Leslie Schneider and some AGO directors and employees.

Ms. Shina Mansoor said: “Any action that harms women physically or mentally is considered violence against women.”

DAG Mansoor believes that AGO has serious commitment towards elimination of violence against women. She added that handling 1726 cases across Afghanistan over the past 8 months demonstrate this commitment. According to her, increasing women’s awareness and education level is one of the solutions to reduce violence against women.

Meanwhile, Leslie Schneider talked about solemn cooperation between IDLO and AGO in various areas of fighting violence against women. According to Ms. Schneider, registration of such cases at the prosecution offices has recently increased and this is due to women’s awareness of their rights and their trust upon AGO. She considers elimination of violence against women one of common goals of IDLO and AGO.

Ms. Schneider added: “IDLO has established ‘Elimination of Violence Against Women (EVAW)’ online database in AGO to track violence against women cases   and ensure effective fight against this phenomenon” She explained that the cooperation between AGO and IDLO has more achievements than expected.

She also talked about the development of “Filing System” for Elimination of Violence prosecutors in 15 provinces and added that this system will also be implemented in other provinces soon.

On the other hand, General Director for Elimination of Violence Against Women, Ms. Shazia Yousufi pointed out on the serious efforts AGO has made in dealing with cases of violence against women. Ms. Yousufi added that the investigation section of General Directorate of Elimination of Violence Against Women has registered 750 cases over the last 8 months only in Kabul. She also talked about handling these cases and added that some of the cases have been finalized and some are still strictly under review.

Head of Reduction of Violence Against Women Unit, Atefa Hurmat considers elimination of violence against women a vital issue and emphasizes that it should be seriously taken. Ms. Hurmat believes that creating employment opportunities for women and facilitating their economical independency can result in reduction of violence against them. She added that besides increasing women’s awareness and education, men’s level of awareness about “Women’s Rights on Men” should also be raised. According to Ms. Hurmat, women are considered a great force in the society and their backwardness results in backwardness of the country in different areas.

She added that women’s lack of access to education and other issues that are not considered permissible to women due to existence of unpleasant customs and traditions have also increased the rate of violence against them. She emphasized that particular programs should be initiated and implemented in order to resolve these issues.

At the end, Head of Gender Unit of the Prosecution Office on Elimination of Violence Against Women, Ms. Nargis considered low participation of women in the governmental agencies as one of concerns of the International Community which she believes that has increased in the AGO, and the platform for capacity building has also been provided to them in different programs. Ms. Nargis added that women’s workplace safety should be seriously considered and their participation should be further increased in AGO.

AGO celebrates International Day on Elimination of Violence Against Women every year.