Seeking Shelter: Violence Against Women
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Since beginning operations in Afghanistan in 2003, the International Development Law Organization (IDLO) has implemented numerous technical assistance programmes, benefiting thousands of legal professionals, including judges, prosecutors, defense lawyers, civil servants, and academics. These professionals have received training and access to legal tools and resources. IDLO has also enabled the provision of essential legal services to vulnerable people and communities, with a particular focus on women and girls.
In 2021, IDLO adapted its approach to enhance the capacity of non-state justice actors, such as civil society organizations, networks, and individual service providers.
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"Experience shows that there can be no gender equality unless women can access justice and dispense justice," IDLO Director of External Relations Judit Arenas has said at the launch of the GQUAL campaign for gender parity in international bodies.
(Kabul, Afghanistan) A delegation of the International Development Law Organization (IDLO), led by its Director-General Irene Khan, has concluded a visit to Kabul, Afghanistan where she met President Ashraf Ghani and the leadership of the country’s justice institutions to discuss the importance of justice sector reform i
Good laws are one thing; implementation is another. Texts and statutes are critical instruments in advancing the rule of law -- but their benefits are limited if those tasked with their application, let alone their intended beneficiaries, fail to understand them. Where a gap develops between the law and what the legal profession makes of it, abuse and injustice will thrive.
In the past month in Afghanistan:
It was Valentine’s day – a time for celebrating love and friendship for many - but in Kunduz province Afghanistan, a newly-wed pregnant woman lost her baby, reportedly, in a brutal exorcism carried out by a local mullah.
While the justice sector in Afghanistan has progressed since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, legal awareness and access to justice throughout the country are still lagging behind. A 2016 World Justice Project report found that only 23 per cent of Afghan citizens used the formal justice system to settle disputes, and less than half reported to have trust in the state courts. As a result, and combined with the pressure of social norms, potential justice users, particularly women, are deterred from using the formal system and are often unable to obtain fair remedies for grievances