By Brendan Sweeney
While the security situation in Afghanistan was a top priority for foreign donors in Afghanistan, the widespread problem of violence in families is often overlooked. In the Herat province in Western Afghanistan, however, DIHR's main Afghan partner, CSHRN has decided to focus on a problem which has a debilitating affect on women and children in particular.
CSHRN has chosen Herat to carry out a pilot project because the Network has such good connections to civil society organizations, state institutions as well as Islamic scholars in the province, and also because state institutions function relatively well there.
The aim of the project is to develop and implement a joint strategy with all relevant stakeholders to combat violence in families. If the pilot project is successful, similar projects will be carried out in other regions.
Senior DIHR Advisor and Programme Manager, Malek Sitez, who is responsible for the Institute’s projects in Afghanistan warmly welcomes the new strategy:
“I believe it is crucial that we concentrate on the issue of family violence, and the CSHRN pilot project in Herat is an excellent way to start. The problem of domestic violence has arisen due to a number of factors such as the ideology of the Taliban and Mujahedin, who misinterpret Islamic teachings to suit their own agenda, the fact that women are economically dependent on men and the general lack of access to education among both women and men. One of the most depressing side affects of this violence is the high suicide rate among women, which then creates untold suffering for their children and other family members.”
Malek Sitez has frequently travelled to Herat, and agrees that it is the ideal place to run a pilot project.
“Unlike other parts of Afghanistan, the state infrastructure and institutions, such as the university, police, justice sector, municipality and primary schools all function well in Herat which means that real progress can be made here to tackle this problem,” he said.
“Because it is relatively safe it is much easier to reach families and to work with them,” he continues, “and Herat has a comparatively well developed media sector which will give CSHRN the chance to organize debates and create discussions on domestic violence.”
The project has received strong support from local civil society groups and from the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission regional office based in Herat. In addition, the police, the justice sector and other state institutions have shown a broad interest in working with CSHRN on combating family violence in the province.
For further information, please contact Brendan Sweeney at
