Afghanistan

The statement will be a blow to Western nations and the government of President Hamid Karzai, who want to paint a positive human rights picture ahead of the withdrawal of most foreign forces scheduled by the end of next year.

Only a few months ago following the killing of First Lieutenant Isla Bibi, her female police force replacement Second Lieutenant Bibi Negarah was attacked, but not killed, by a gunman and his associate who were driving by on a motorcycle.

As the departure of the international security forces approaches, each day turns every bit of hope into desperation for advocates of Afghan women's rights. In 2010, soon after the United States announced the planned withdrawal of NATO and international forces at the end of 2014, Afghan women leaders communicated to SRSG Estefan de Mistura their concrete agenda for sustainable peace.

Afghan women's rights advocate Masouda Karokhi was announced as one of the eight winners of the 2013 N-Peace Awards, the N-Peace Network announced on their Facebook site today. According to their website, the N-Peace initiative and the Awards campaign are managed by the UNDP Asia Pacific Regional Center (APRC).

A court has reversed the convictions of three Afghans jailed for torturing a young relative who had refused to become a prostitute, alarming activists who had celebrated the guilty verdicts as a warning to all those who would seek to reverse the strides made by women here in the past 12 years.

The number of women and girls jailed by Afghan authorities for "moral crimes" has risen by 50 percent in the last year and a half, an alarming statistic that reflects the Afghan government's need to step up efforts to protect women's rights, Human Rights Watch said Tuesday.

Islamic fundamentalist politicians in Afghanistan have stopped a debate on whether to give parliamentary approval to a law protecting women against violence.

Proceedings were brought to an end amid angry scenes when traditionalists demanded a repeal of the law.

The United Nations today voiced “serious concern” over the deaths of at least 10 Afghan children and a woman, and injuries to seven others in an armed clash during a joint Afghan-NATO operation against the Taliban in eastern Kunar province.

Anisa, a volunteer Afghan health worker, had just left her home and was on her way to work when two armed men on motorcycles zipped past her.

The gunmen shot the 20-year-old student, who worked as a village polio-vaccination worker, at least six times in the abdomen. Anisa was whisked to a local hospital in her hometown of Kohistan, in the eastern Kapisa Province, but died shortly after being admitted.

A good presidential election will benefit not only Afghanistan's future but also the future of the region, the Independent Election Commission (IEC) chief said Tuesday.