Feminicidio legal en Afganistán

publicoes

"A new Afghan law will allow men to attack their wives, children and sisters without fear of judicial punishment, undoing years of slow progress in tackling violence in a country blighted by so-called "honour" killings, forced marriage and vicious domestic abuse.

Una ley que puede ser aprobada próximamente en Afganistán, deja a las mujeres completamente vulnerables, indefensas, frente a la violencia machista. Sus maridos pueden castigarlas, abusarlas o hacer con ellas lo que les de la gana. Sin responsabilidad legal. Y les diré que tal norma permite de facto el feminicidio. Se puede llegar a matar en defensa del honor del agresor. Curiosamente, allí sirven tropas de países democráticos. Mujeres y hombres estadounidenses. 

  Afghanistan prosecution 

Afghanistan's criminal prosecution code bans relatives of an accused person from testifying against them. Most violence against women in Afghanistan is within the family, so the law – passed by parliament but awaiting the signature of the president, Hamid Karzai – will effectively silence victims as well as most potential witnesses to their suffering.

"It is a travesty this is happening," said Manizha Naderi, director of the charity and campaign group Women for Afghan Women. "It will make it impossible to prosecute cases of violence against women … The most vulnerable people won't get justice now."

EU position

The European Union has called a draft Afghan law that would silence battered women a "backward step", while activists warn there are only two weeks to stop it coming into force.

The new criminal prosecution code bars relatives from testifying against each other, in effect putting justice out of reach for victims of domestic violence, forced marriage or child abuse.

A final draft was completed last week and has been sent by parliament to President Hamid Karzai, according to an international diplomat who is following the progress of the legislation.

Under the Afghan constitution, if Karzai does not veto it within 15 days, the law will come into force by default. The president's office did not respond to emails and calls seeking comment on his position. "I am very concerned that this new law would restrict prosecutions for domestic violence and child abuse in Afghanistan," the EU's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, said.