AFGHANISTAN: HONOUR KILLINGS, WOMEN’S RIGHTS & GENDER EQUALITY
Dewantari (2016) identifies that human rights are a commonly universal phenomenon, however, conflicts begin to occur when universality intersects with local perspectives. In particular circumstances, diverse tradition, cultures and belief systems provide a justification to what is commonly seen as a human rights violation. Though criminalised by international law, honour killings continue to be conducted throughout various countries such as Afghanistan. Honour killings are both unique due to the motives behind the crime and the intersects between both the general declaration of human rights and gender specific human rights. Even though males are represented in honour killings in cases of homosexuality, transsexuality and bi-sexulity, the statistics remain disproportionate (žurnalas, 2020). With the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan alongside the withdrawal of United States of America (US) troops, constitutional and International law in regards to the protection of Afghan women's fundamental rights has been significantly jeopardised. An exploration of the involved legal provisions will be provided alongside the influence of the Taliban on the rights of women in Afghanistan. Furthermore, it is essential to note the current and historical influential factors that sustain this human rights violation.
According to Gibbs et al (2019), honour killings are categorised as the most extreme representation of honour based human rights violations. The United Nations (UN)(2012) states that the prevalence of gender related killings has globally outstretched alarmingly increasing rates. The United Nations (2012) have identified through the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) that there are approximately 5,000 global deaths from honour killings per year. However, this does not take into account extreme under reporting.
In 2016 and 2017, Afghanistan had approximately 280 reported honour killings (United Nations Human Rights, 2018). Within Afghanistan, women are disproportionately the victims of honour killings in circumstances of ‘dishonour’ including confirmed or perceived adultery, talking to ‘unknown men’, premarital pregnancy, challenging patriarchal hierarchy and norms, et cetera. This categorises honour killings with ‘femicide’, which is commonly known as a sexist killing including those that are motivated by social constructs, social hierarchy and even cases of sadistic desires. Furthermore, it is important to note that even though some cases of honour killings in Afghanistan involve a male victim, individuals who kill / torture are close to always men. This is seen in the The United Nations (UN) Declaration of the Elimination of all Forms of Violence against Women which identifies honour killings as a gendered issue. According to Gibbs et al (2019), the overall conceptualisation of honour killings is In the belief that ‘misconduct’ of women brings dishonour and shame to the family that can solely be restored through killing or severe punishment. It is the death of the women that distances the family from the dishonour and re-establishes their societal position. It is evident that the majority of Afghanistans honour killing victims are women aged 18-29; More than half the women in the research were married and over 77.1% had no education.
Where there is a lack of due diligence in the prevention of human rights violation, this can lead to international responsibility. Crimes such as honour killings are categorised under domestic laws within most countries, yet the failure of prevention from states is the reason why honour killings are a part of the human rights agenda (Luopajarvi, 2004). In 2009, the then President of Afghanistan, Karzai, signed a revised version of the Shia Personal Status law as well as legislation for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (EVAW) which criminalised emotional, physical and sexual violence against women. The EVAW lists twenty-two acts of violence that would no longer be tolerated by law including mandated punishment for perpetrators, yet honour killings were not specifically referenced (Wimpelmann, 2017). Due to the nature of the violence, honour killings have been categorised as a common law offence although the penal code (Article 398) allows for a reduced sentence for offenders who have killed a women that committed adultery / perceived adultery (Gibbs et al, 2019).The EVAW was celebrated by activists across Afghanistan as compared to the previous penal code, rape had been individualised from consensual adultery with stricter punishment. However, with honour killings remaining absent from the EVAW, in circumstances where rape does still occur, legislation does not directly permit ‘punishment’ against the women in the form of death. It is this gap in the legislation that perpetuates the human rights violation. The EVAW and Shia Law both have themes of difference between the two yet were both signed by the President on the same day. This inevitably created an ambiguous structure for gender violence regulation. Wimpelmann (2017) identifies that the singing of of both laws would avoid accusations of allowing western pressures to guide the country. It is seen that signing both laws in 2009 was in recognising Shia Law would become invalid by EVAW Law. However, it is essential to note that Afghanistan is ranked one of the highest countries for corruption with Transparency International ranking them 15 out of 100 (0 being the most corrupt). Additionally, the Worlds Banks Worldwide Governance Indicators (2017) has identified Afghanistan as one of the ten worst performers in regards to rule of law, government effectiveness, control of corruption and regulatory quality. Thus, the transparency of legislation decisions can be skewed (Bak, 2019).
Secretary-general of the United Nations (UN), Antonio Guterres reported to media in regards to the current uprise of the Taliban warning that Afghanistan is ‘spinning out of control’. Guterres states his disturbance of the Talibans imposition of restrictions for human rights with a particular focus on targeting journalists and women. The UN Secretary-general expressed his heartbreak seeing reports of the rights of women being violated and conflict increasing day by day (Aljazeera, 2021). Human Rights Watch (2021) reports that even though the EVAW law has been a major progression for Afghan women’s rights, the withdrawal of troops has increased resistance when women decide to file a complaint. Judges, police and prosecutors have been deterring women from filing a complaint under the EVAW law with recommendations of family mediation. According to UNHR (2018), the UN High Commissioner has responded in describing it as a human rights violation by the state. Family mediation normalises the issue and perpetuates its continuance. The UN High Commissioner has specifically outlined the states obligation through international law to address the crime rather than state it as a family matter to be addressed through family mediation. When interviewed, many girls / women expressed that family mediation was the only option available to them.
There are various links between honour killings and demographic factors such as social status, modernisation, poverty and religion (Pirnia et al, 2020). Thrasher and Handfield (2018) highlight that honour killings are derived from social norms that hold key functions in societies which hold weak implementation of endogenous violence. It is the weak implementation of endogenous violence that reflects upon the social normalities in Afghanistan. Honour killings primarily have sanction in communities where gendered superiority and male dominance are prominent in economic, familial and social structures. Women are considered ‘soft targets’ due to the perception of lower socio-economic status, social status and the cultural responsibility to maintain the reputation of their family (Singh & Bhandari, 2021). However, it is essential to note that not all cultures with gender inequality norms have honour norms. Afghanistan honour based violence can be categorised by purification and revenge. Revenge specific honour violence is in attempt to regain an individual or families status (Thrasher & Handfield, 2018). In countries such as Afghanistan, it is viewed that men are the protectors of a women and her sexuality (Khan, 2020). Thus his honour is reflected upon his ability to control the sexual behaviour of the women in the family. It is justified that when deviance occurs, so does punishment. In reflecting upon the language of the title of a ‘protector’, the term does not have a negative connotation and the term ‘deviance’ is commonly associated with consequences. It is the very language used that contributes to a culture that both justifies and normalises the act due to the reasoning behind; The use of language creates justification as to why the killing is not an act of murder, but a needed act of honour. This language used is a reflection of the cultural norms that legitimise the violation of human rights. Overall, the preservation and protection of honour is possible due to the continuation of male control in Afghanistan. It is male domination that made laws possible to conduct honour killings and it is furthermore male domination that prohibits actions of women in Afghanistan to address the violation (Ne’Eman-Haviv, 2020).
Ruttig (2021) explores the recent withdrawal of approximately 2,500 troops from Afghanistan by the President Biden administration which has created various challenges for the Afghan community. Negotiations have led to the Doha 2020 U.S.- Taliban agreement as well as intra-afghan negotiations. The acceleration of the process since the Biden administration take over has continued the Donald Trump reduction of troops since mid January 2021. The reduction and now elimination of troops in Afghanistan has strengthen the Taliban through weakening the Afghan Government. At the Intra-Afghan Peace Conference (2019), the Taliban agreed to the political, economic, educational, social and cultural rights of women within the framework of Islamic values. Again in 2021, the Taliban wrote an open letter to the USA reiterating their peace agreement and dedication to uphold the rights of women in accordance to Islamic law. In a 2019 Moscow conference, the chief negotiator of the Taliban noted that providing women’s rights in Afghanistan does not align with western ideologies but in relation to the cultural and religious tradition. However, previous Taliban regimes do not align with the current peace agreement causing doubt for many in Afghanistan. From a perspective of behaviour, the Taliban current political perspective demonstrates little to no positive change. Therefore, with the Afghan Governments power balance decreasing, the likelihood of the EVAW additionally decreases having detrimental impacts on violence against women and furthermore the prevalence of honour killings.
Afghanistans government budget is 75 percent derived from international donors (Barr, 2021). Since the withdraw of US troops, international donors have become wary of sending international aid due to possible corruption of the Government as the Taliban increases control. Although countries like Germany are still supporting Afghanistan, the current economic crisis is increasing with more people being displaced due to the Taliban (McGrail, 2021). A lack of sufficient international aid will have detrimental impacts on women’s rights. The Taliban which now control over two thirds of the country will consequently have the power to gain higher control of the government retaining pre-2001 policies towards women. An example of this is an increase in honour killings (Barr, 2021).
Overall, honour killings are a human rights violation occurring in various countries due to factors such as culture, the contextual circumstances of the countries and particular belief systems. Despite International Law, domestic law and social perspectives can often facilitate the continuation of honour killings. Afghanistan continues to be involved in honour killings with the prevalence of the issue increasing as well as overall gender violence being of concern with the rise of the Taliban. The withdrawal of American troops there has been increased concern for gender based violence including honour killings despite laws such as EVAW. Overall, various legal provisions and UN involvement is being utilised with the aim to address and decrease the prevalence of honour killings in Afghanistan, yet is currently an increasing concern.
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