A Long Way to Go: Implementation of the Elimination of Violence against Women Law in Afghanistan

The Government of Afghanistan took a big step forward in support of women’s equality and protection of women’s rights when it enacted the Law on the Elimination of Violence against Women (EVAW law) in August 2009. The landmark legislation criminalizes for the first time in Afghanistan child marriage, forced marriage, forced self-immolation and 19 other acts of violence against women including rape, and specifies punishments for perpetrators. This report from the UN Assistance Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) examines implementation of the EVAW law by judicial and law enforcement officials throughout Afghanistan for the period of March 2010 to September 2011, and identifies both positive progress and large gaps.