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AFP: The United Nations said Monday that Afghanistan needs to more than double its midwife numbers to curb one of the world's highest maternal mortality rates despite a huge increase in practitioners. "In 2002 there were only 467 trained midwives in the entire country," World Health Organisation country representative Peter Graaff told a news conference. That number had increased to more than 2,100 by 2008, he said. But in a stark assessment of Afghanistan's needs, he said: "The total estimated requirement for midwives in the country is not 2,100 but 4,500... in order to cover the needs of 90 percent of the population." Full news...
The New York Times: The outrage over civilian deaths swelled again over the weekend. Hundreds of angry villagers demonstrated here in Mehtarlam, the capital of Laghman Province, on Sunday after an American raid on a village in the province on Friday night. The raid killed at least 16 villagers, including 2 women and 3 children, according to a statement from President Hamid Karzai. They agreed that 13 civilians had been killed and 9 wounded when American commandos broke down doors and unleashed dogs without warning on Jan. 7 in the hunt for a known insurgent in Masamut, in Laghman Province in eastern Afghanistan. The residents were so enraged that they threatened to march on the American military base here. Full news...
South Asia News: US-led forces claimed Saturday they killed 15 rebels, including a female fighter, in eastern Afghanistan. However, a provincial lawmaker and local villagers said that 21 Afghan civilians were killed in the operation. Eleven militants were killed in the firefight, while four others were killed in an airstrike, it said, adding that a female fighter was killed 'while maneuvering on coalition forces and was carrying a rocket-propelled grenade.' However, Abdul Rahimzai, head of Laghman's provincial council, said that Friday night's attack killed 21 civilians and wounded several others. Full news...
The Journal: After NATO's invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, most people thought the world had finally remembered and rescued a country drowned in pain and sorrow. But despite the attention paid by the international community, today Afghanistan is one of the poorest, most under-developed countries in the world. RAWA believes that no other nation can liberate Afghan women, and it is their own responsibility to raise and fight for their rights. In this hard fight we need the support and solidarity of peace-loving and democratic-minded people of the world. Full news...
PAN: Takhar police have arrested the husband of a young lady, along with three others, for murdering her in northern Takhar province. Brigadier general Ziauddin Mahmoodi Takhar police chief told pajhwok Afghan News that 18 years old victim was killed three days back by her husband with the help of three other people in Post Khor area of Taloqan city. Sufi Mohammad a neighbor of the victim said the couple used to quarrel, Anwar often used to beat her and we could hear her crying and shouting. He said that the very next morning of the night she died; he got information of her homicide but didnt know who exactly committed the crime. Full news...
PAN: Four people were arrested in a rape case of a young girl in Baharak district of northeastern Badakhshan province, police said. Colonel Abdul Wadood, Baharak district chief told PAN on Sunday that these four men brought 14 year old Aziza to a house, raped her and later the girl was recovered from a barn. He said that two of the rapists were Badakhshan border police officials and the case has been submitted to the prosecution. Full news...
The Earth Times: Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Thursday condemned the reported killing of 17 civilians, including women and children, in a US-led coalition operation in eastern Afghanistan, the presidential palace said in a statement. Several demonstration have been staged in Afghan cities and rural areas to condemn the killing of civilians by foreign forces. Unable to seek revenge independently, many Afghan men in southern and eastern Afghanistan have joined the Taliban ranks after losing members of their families in international military operations, according to Afghan officials. Full news...
IRIN: Maryam, 14, was raped by a man in the Yakawlang District of Bamyan Province, central Afghanistan, five months ago. Her mother and brother used razor blades to cut the girl open, take out the foetus, and bury it alive to hide the disgrace, according to Habiba Surabi, the governor of Bamyan. “The baby was alive when they took it from my body… and buried it as it was crying,” Maryam was quoted in the local media as saying. Full news...
PAN (Translated by RAWA): A 12-year old boy in Faryab province was raped. General Mohammad Sadiq, commander of the Commanding Security of Faryab, told PAN that the boy was named Farhad and had been kidnapped a day back. Two men in a Corolla car had kidnapped him from the city of Maimana to the Shireen Tugab District and raped him there. He added that after that the rapists had intoxicated him and freed him from a Corolla car in the Friday Bazaar in Maimanah (capital city of Faryab) and escaped from there. Full news...
Tolo TV (Translated by RAWA): Rape victims demand severe punishments for the people involved in the crime. Two girls, thirteen and twelve years old, were gang-raped by powerful men and regional commanders in Sar-e-Pul about four months back. They say that till now no measures have been taken against the people who had raped them. They demanded justice from the government and legal and judicial bodies. Increasing cases of rape, especially those of children, have greatly worried people in the country. Human rights organizations have also expressed concern over the terrible aftermath of the rapes. Full news...
PAN (Translated by RAWA): Recent statistics show that about 25% of women in the country are subjected to sexual violence. Younis Payan, deputy of the United Nations Population Fund in Afghanistan (UNFPA), who was giving a speech on the first day of a one-day workshop (A Happy Family and Intact Society from Islam’s Viewpoint), said the survey had been conducted recently. According to Younis Payan, the statistics show that about 30.7% women suffer physical violence and another 30% suffer from psychological violence. Full news...
PAN (Translated by RAWA): The police in Farah province arrested five men-including a policeman -for kidnapping and raping a 15-year old girl and rescued the girl from them. According to him, the soldier of the Provincial Security Commander had kidnapped a 15-year old girl from the Farah city and took her to the home of one of his relatives, and there together with some other men raped her. Full news...
San Francisco Chronicle: Today, many Afghan couples are torn between adhering to the tradition of large families and the financial reality of caring for many children. Afghanistan has the highest fertility rate in Asia at more than seven children per woman. About 800,000 people annually are added to the nation's population of 32 million, according to the United Nations Development Fund. The dilemma is particularly significant in rural areas where parents depend on children to tend crops and livestock, but where war and drought have pushed many Afghans into poverty. Full news...
IWPR: The Mirwais Meena girls’school used to be a bustling place with over 1300 students. But now the halls and grounds are nearly empty, the swings hang motionless on the recreation field. On a late November morning, there were only a dozen or so girls and three female teachers to be seen. The rest, traumatised by a vicious attack on November 12 that left several girls disfigured and two blinded, have chosen to stay at home. Full news...
RAWA News: According to a report of Radio Azadi, on December 8th, a horrifying crime shooked the little village of Khomdan, some distance from Dasht-e-Qala District of Takhar province. Two women and a 2-year old girl were cut into pieces with an axe, by unknown armed men. It’s still not known who is behind this crime. Full news...
PAN: Locals in Helmand province claim that ten civilians including women and children were killed in the air strike of coalition forces in the Nad-e-Ali district. Haji Abdul Haq Helmandwal, a local elder said that a house in Shin village was targeted in the attack where six children and two women were killed. He said that six others were injured who were ferried by ISAF plane for treatment in their facility. Full news...
PAN (Translated by RAWA): This year, the rate of violence against women in Kunduz, especially rape of small girls has increased by two times compared to last year. Expressing concern over this situation, Nadira Gyah, head of the Women’s Affairs in Kunduz told PAN that this year 60 cases of violence, including that of rapes, beatings, coerced marriages and running away from homes due to lack of substantial sustenance; were recorded in the administration. Full news...
The Guardian Weekly: Human rights are in crisis in Afghanistan, where fundamentalist warlords hold high office and child abuse and gang rapes are on the increase. When Malalai Joya, a young female Afghan politician, spoke out against the presence of 'war criminals' in the affairs of state, she was expelled from parliament among shouts of ‘whore’ and ‘communist’. The recipient of various international prizes for bravery, she speaks of her commitment to defend the rights of women and children despite numerous attempts on her life. Full news...
PAN (Translated by RAWA): Doctors of the central hospital of Uruzgan say that ISAF forces, without permission, shot photos of the female patients in the hospital and distributed expired medicines and biscuits. In reaction to these actions on November 26, the doctors of the central hospital went on a strike from treating the patients. Amir Ahmad, the head physician, told PAN that ISAF forces came to the hospital without permission went to the female section and took their photos. He added that taking women’s photos are again the Afghani customs and culture. Full news...
Independent.co.uk: There is a little girl in the Meir Wais hospital with livid scars and dead skin across her face, an obscene map of brown and pink tissue. Then there is another girl, a beautiful child, Khorea Horay, grimacing in pain, her leg amputated, her life destroyed after her foot was torn to pieces. In another ward, two girls lie on their backs, a tent above their limbs. One has lost an arm, another – a 16-year-old – a leg. The black turbans are everywhere. So are the blue burkhas which we Westerners confidently – stupidly – believed would vanish from Afghan society. Full news...
AFP: Waheeda's arms were blown off in a suicide attack in the Afghan capital a few years ago. Flesh was also torn from one of her legs and she lost much of her vision. Her mashed face is split by an uneven scar. Now about 35, she has six children but not much else. "I cannot even drink water by myself," she weeps silently, dabbing at a tear with one of her stumped arms. Full news...
Spiegel Online: It's all too often that the US military accepts civilian casualties as a necessary evil. An internal Air Force report describes its excessively violent methods as well as how officials have been trying to placate surviving family members with money. There have been times when artillary shells have killed innocent civilians after landing several kilometers off-target. That is what happened in Paktika Province in the country's southeast on July 19. In other instances, such as that of last Monday -- as well as on July 6 and other previous occasions -- wedding parties have been misidentified as groups of insurgents -- with deadly consequences. Full news...
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Afghan education authorities say they are facing a difficult task of convincing parents to send their daughters to school as attacks on female students have increased in recent months. Three girls sustained severe burns in the southern town of Kandahar earlier in the week when unknown men sprayed acid on up to 15 girls. One of the girls might permanently lose her sight. Full news...
BBC News: Attackers in Afghanistan have sprayed acid in the faces of at least 15 girls near a school in Kandahar, police say. They say the attack happened shortly before at least six people were killed in a bomb blast near a government building in the city. Full news...
CNN News: The U.S. military is investigating two airstrikes this week that Afghan officials say killed as many as 60 civilians. Many Afghans accuse the United States of not taking caution when carrying out airstrikes in civilian areas and Karzai has been under enormous political pressure to stop the strikes. Full news...
ATN (Translated by RAWA): A 7-year old girl was raped by a young man in Ghazni province of Afghanistan. The girl is currently under treatment in the provincial hospital of Ghazni. Doctors in the hospital say that her condition is better now. Full news...
Xinhua: As many as 37 civilians have been killed in an airstrike of U.S.-led troops in southern Afghanistan while attending a wedding party, local Afghan villagers said Wednesday. Haji Roozi Khan, owner of the mentioned house, told Xinhua on the spot that the air bombing and firing meant to retaliate on militants who hit the wedding gathering, killing 10 women, 23 children, and four men, all civilians. Full news...
Times Online: Nearly 4,000 new mental health cases were reported in the Armed Forces last year, according to Ministry of Defence figures. Women in the Forces also suffered from a higher rate of mental disorder than their male counterparts. Seven hundred servicewomen, some of whom will have served in Iraq or Afghanistan, were assessed last year as having a form of mental health illness. Of the 868 patients treated between October and December, the number of women with mental disorders was the equivalent of 8 per 1,000 compared with 4 per 1,000 men. Full news...
Daily Times: The Taliban — blamed nowadays for just about all of Afghanistan’s ills — have officially been gone for nearly seven years, so why are conditions still so abysmal? While billions of dollars in aid have led to improvements in urban areas, where health facilities have been built and midwives trained, the overall maternal death figures have hardly changed. As one doctor told me: “A competent midwife or nurse would rather be out of work in Kabul than stuck in a remote village.” But most Afghans live in remote villages — those in Badakhshan can be reached only after a day’s bumpy ride on a donkey. Full news...
PAN: A woman in the district of Ali Shing, eastern Laghman province, committed self immolation and died on Friday night due to domestic violence. The woman, married in an exchange marriage, was mistreated by her in-laws, Muhammad Qader, resident of Shagi area, told Pajhwok Afghan News. Full news...
PAN: More than 80% Afghans are faced by mental health problems due to long war and economic depravity, where as child stress has increased by 30%, compared to the past, said Dr. Khalid Mufti, a well known Psychiatrist here on Friday. Full news...
Reuters: Nearly 15 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans seeking medical care from the U.S. Veterans Affairs Department have suffered sexual trauma, from harassment to rape, researchers reported on Tuesday. Kimerling said in a telephone interview the term "military sexual trauma" covers a range of events from coerced sex to outright rape or threatening and unwelcome sexual advances. "If you think about military service where you are living and working so closely with the same people, that even if it is not sexual assault ... it is possible that severe sexual harassment is just as traumatic," she said. The study does not cover active-duty servicemen and women, as VA services are only available to discharged veterans. Full news...
RAWA News: To condemn the presence of Afghan criminals in the Mini-Peace Jirga in Islamabad, the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) held a sit-in protest on October 28, 2008. RAWA denounced the participation of corrupt people and criminals like Abdullah (head of the delegation), Kabir Ranjbar, Arif Noorzai and Farooq Wardak. RAWA emphasized that such murderers and traitors can’t solve the problem of terrorism in both the countries and in no way can represent the Afghan people. The hands of above-mentioned people are stained with the blood of our innocent people. Full news...
Los Angeles Times: Taliban gunmen on a motorbike shot and killed a Western woman aid worker in the Afghan capital today, fueling a sense that insurgents are increasingly encroaching on the country's seat of government. A suicide bomber also killed two Western soldiers and five children in the north of Afghanistan, where violence is relatively rare. Full news...
Quqnoos: Police have found the dead body of a 16-year-old girl, who police say was raped and then shot, in the south-eastern province of Khost (Afghanistan). The head of the province’s anti-crime branch, Gul Dad, said the body was found on Saturday and was handed over to the girl’s parents the next day. Full news...
TrendNews: The six-year-old, Samiullah, a resident of the provincial capital Aibak was raped by 18-year-old Muhammad Ullah on Friday after the teenager lured Samiullah into his garden with offerings of fruit, the head of the province’s criminal branch, Habib-ul-Rahman Saighani, said. Full news...
The Nation Magazine: Seven years after the US invasion of Afghanistan, our devastated country is still chained to the fundamentalist warlords and the Taliban; the country is like an unconscious body breathing its last. The US government and its allies exploited the plight of Afghan women to legitimate its so-called "war on terror" and attack on Afghanistan. The medieval and brutal regime of the Taliban was toppled, but instead of relying on Afghan people, the United States and its allies pushed us from the frying pan to the fire and brought the infamous criminals of the "Northern Alliance" into power--sworn enemies of democracy and human rights, who are as dark-minded, evil, anti-women and cruel as the Taliban. Full news...
BBC News: In valleys and villages across Badakshan, a province located in the Hindu Kush mountain range, such stories are common. Maternal mortality, when a woman dies during or shortly after pregnancy, is believed to be the highest in the world here. According to statistics published by the UN in 2002, the province had the highest rate of mortal maternity ever recorded. Full news...
The Sunday Times: Nobody seriously thinks the Taliban could take Kabul. The capital is surrounded by mountains, has only a few routes in and remained almost untouched during the Russian occupation. Afghanistan has more than 71,000 foreign troops under the leadership of Nato and the US, neither of which can contemplate defeat. It is hard to find any Afghan families who hanker after a Taliban regime that banned everything from girls’ schools to television and regarded public amputations and executions as entertainment. However, the fear among Kabulis is palpable. “There is a sense of dread of return to the dark days of the past,” said a western diplomat. Full news...< Previous 1 2 3 ... 21 22 23 ... 25 26 27 Next >
(with photos and movie clip)Samia, victim of family violence in fundamentalists-dominated Afghanistan (with photos and movie clip)Afghan carpet weavers are unpaid slaves, rights activist says Being a writer -or woman- still dangerous in Afghanistan Female foe of warlords faces them in Afghan assembly Was Women's Vote a Roar, or a Whisper? The women of Afghanistan find a leader Afghan Woman Accused of Being U.S. Spy Is Killed Violence against women in Afghanistan remains dramatic – UN expert The Taleban may be gone, but the abuse of women goes on AI: Afghan Women Still Under Attack -- Systematic Failure to Protect Three Afghan women found dead with warning note A woman was stoned to death in Afghanistan Afghan women still in chains under Karzai Women Prisoners Complain of Bad Conditions and Sexual Abuse Access to Justice for Afghan Women 12-years old Rahima was gang-raped by warlords Afghan women offer to replace hostages Female election worker commits suicide after rape attempt on her (with photo) Afghan Women No Better Off; US accused of not fulfilling promises Painful story of the Herati shelter girls Afghan rights advocate expects death A populist hero emerges from under the rule of the gun Blast Kills 2 Afghan Women On Election Workers' Bus Afghan Schoolgirls Poisoned Afghan province bans women performers on TV, radio Self-Immolation Of Women On The Rise In Western Provinces Afghanistan's Supreme Court protests women singing on TV Afghanistan's Women after 'Liberation' Woman delegate almost expelled from Afghan assembly Thousands of married Afghan women were expelled from school Amnesty International: Constitution fails women Amnesty International: No justice and security for women Apathy of Afghan women after Taliban AFGHANISTAN: Report exposes continuing human rights abuses HRW Report Details Threats to Women's Rights, Freedom of Expression Afghan women: Fighting for the right to sing Eve Ensler: This is Most Fragile Time for Afghanistan "Climate of fear" rules Afghanistan, Girl's education at risk Afghanistan: the Taliban's smiling face Afghan poor sell daughters as brides Why burqas still stifle Afghan women Afghan warlords still enforcing Taliban oppression Post-Taliban Warlords Oppress Afghan Women Widespread abuse, restrictions on freedom continue Self-Immolations on Rise in Afghanistan Afghan Women Die Giving Birth at Staggering Rate Afghan Woman Fired for Meeting Bush Uncovered Afghan Girl Schools Struck by Attacks RAWA Literacy Program for Afghan Women (photos) Afghan Women Remain Victims of Hope Unfulfilled RAWA Interview with some prostitutes Women at risk in Afghanistan Afghan women still languish What the future holds for the women of Afghanistan? ZARMINA'S STORY "A female worker was gang raped in northern Afghanistan", UN HRW: Women Still Under Threat Afghan laws still repress women Afghan Woman Teacher Attacked with Acid Northern Alliance gunmen rape fourteen-year-old Fatima and her mother 3 Afghan women awaiting repatriation die Warlord's men commit rape in revenge against Taliban Pashtuns subjected to murder, sexual abuse in North of Afghanistan Annan: Afghan Women May Still Suffer Lifting The Veil On Taliban Sex Slavery Taliban Restrictions Drive Women To Suicide Reports of rape, looting by Afghan militiamen Afghan girls on sale for 100kg wheat "Give me security, then I will remove my burqa" Crimes of the "Northern Alliance" Seen Through the Eyes of a Grieving Mother The Heartbreaking Story of an Afghan Woman Taliban whipping a doctor and his female patients Inside Afghanistan: Behind the veil Misery brings down bride price in northern Afghanistan, UN Taliban orders women aid workers to stop driving Taliban stage lashing of unwed couple accused of having sex Taliban Hang Convicted Prostitutes Afghans trading young daughters to pay debts Story of a mother who never sees her only son Red Cross aids and interview with widows in Kabul Afghan women working in poppy fields prefer other jobs Samano, a poetess forced to turn to begging (photo) Taleban shuts 'widow's bakeries' Taliban arrest US aid worker, Ban women from working for NGOs Bakeries Sustain Afghan Widows Eager for Food-and Work Story of a Woman Victim of War
Salehah was burnt alive
Drug addiction among Afghan women on rise Sick women and the stick of Taliban Taliban Stone Woman for Adultery No female student in Afghan universities Taliban sack all female civil servants, teachers UN report flays Taliban rights violations against women Eyewitness report of a RAWA activist from Kabul A bereaved family cries for your help Taliban publicly execute woman (with photo and movie clips) Interview with many women kidnapped from Shamali regions Prostitution Under the rule of Taliban UN lashes out at Taliban for Violence against Women Large number of Afghan women are turning to prostitution Women Burning Under the Taliban Rule The Conversion of Girls Schools into Seminaries by the Taliban Taliban lashed a mother and her daughter publicly A Man Publicly Executed and a Woman Beaten Trafficking of Afghan Women from Kabul to Pakistan Cry of an Afghan women Lashing of women by Taliban Taliban impose new rules on women Trafficking of Afghan and Pakistani girls to Gulf states Women in Afghanistan suffer from depression Afghan female journalist survives life attempt Miserable life of educated Afghan women under Taliban rule Taliban Rules Weigh on Afghan Women Letter of a tormented Afghan woman to commemorate Princess Diana Mariam Girl’s High school turned into a market A woman’s sacred anger Attack on United Nations special girls’ schools Killing in front of the family members The Taliban Rapists Taliban raped two innocent girls Nazaneen’s Mother goes blind A woman challenge Taliban on the road Taliban’s another treatment of women Shakiba's Suicide The Wickedness of the Taliban and a couple Taliban raped Mariam in Kabul A woman stoned to death for adultery Taliban mistreat women Women under house arrest in Afghanistan Taliban's law drives women to suicide Taliban flog woman, cut off two men's hands Doctors ordered not ot treat women without their legal Mahrams What is going on Afghan widows? The Taliban's war on women (New York Times, Nov.6,1997) Girl-lashing by Taliban in Kabul The fundamentalist's gift: Prostitution Raping license Consequence of girls teaching Gang raping Execution for refusing forced marriage Women's self-immolation under the Taliban's domination A man and a woman are stoned to death by Jehadis (Photo) Dostum commander's crime "Women in their houses or in the grave" The fundamentalists and the Afghan women The gift of the fundamentalists Raping nine-year old girls Masoud's men rape foreigners The fundamentalists after gang-raping Shukria, killed her in cold-blooded Celebration of the conquest by raping Suicide to avoid rape Commanders have ten "wives"! The gift of the "Islamic revolution": Body-selling Women’s fault or cruelty in the name of "Shariat" (Islamic Law)? "Only loose women working in foreign aid agencies" Women workers beaten up in Kabul Taliban impose more curbs on nationals Foced abortion, Taliban style Reckoning for wearing thin socks
Gulbar, an Afghan woman who was burnt by her husband in Nov.2005 (details...)
Muska, a female election worker who committed suicide after rape attempt on her in Jalalabad on Oct.9, 2004 (details...) A true face of Afghan women today.
"There is a huge gap between the reality on the ground and the 'remarkable progress' claimed by western diplomats who sit in fortified compounds behind guards..." (Christina Lamb, The Sunday Times, November 5, 2006)Women wailing with grief as they are turned away from a funeral in Kabul in late 1994. AI
Those responsible for these killings are now in possession of power in Afghanistan and strongly supported by the US government.A woman with her child recounts how her husband was killed in Afshar, west of Kabul. Hundreds of innocent people from Hazara minority were massacred by forces of Sayyaf and Ahmad Shah Massoud in this area in 1993
Public execution of an Afghan woman by Taliban in Kabul
Photos from a video film by RAWA (click here to view more photos and movie clips)A victim of the fundamentalists brutalities against women More photos
WOMEN IN AFGHANISTAN: A human rights catastrophe
(Amnesty International document, March 1995)
Self-immolation among Afghan Women (horrible photos)
The Jehadi fundamentalists after gang-raping Shukria, killed her in cold-blood
Naheed another victims of the Jehadi Fundamentalists