Source: Islamic Republic of Afghanistan – Report:
Headline: MOJ press release – Anti-harassment against Women and Children Law and the Wedding Expenses Law
Press Release – MoJ
5 April, 2018
Today Mr. Aman Riazat, Spokesperson for the Mini stry of Justice held a press conference on the recent Anti-harassment against Women and Children Law and the Wedding Expenses Law. He said, “According to the article 54 of the Constitution, Wedding Expenses Law was adopted in 4 chapters and 25 articles. The law is effective and was published in the Official Gazette.” The principal goals of the Wedding Expenses Law, according to him, are to eradicate anti-Islamic traditions, preserve Afghanistan’s cultural values, prevent from exorbitant expenditures, preserve Islamic values, preventing deviations from Islamic values, pave the ground for starting a family, strengthen family cohesion and forestall domestic violence.
According to the provisions of this law, parents and relatives of the bride and groom can celebrate their wedding party in halls and restaurants but neither the bride’s parents, nor her guardians or relatives are allowed to precondition marriage or nikah to money, dowry, or other such things. Moreover, the law prohibits imposition of any kinds of gifts such as Eidi, Ramazani, (Nawrouzi), and so forth.
Spokesperson of Justice Ministry also said that implementation of this law can help us to create opportunities for jobs, access to education and access to health care services.
Mr. Riazat also explained that according to the new Anti-harassment against women and children law, harassment includes physically touch, illegitimate request, verbal and non-verbal abuse that incurs mental or physical discomfort as well as insult to human dignity.
According to the law, a high commission for prevention of harassment against women and children will be established under the leadership of the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled (MoLSAMD) to effectively fight against harassment violations and better coordination between government agencies in this regard.
According to this law, in the event of harassment in workplace, the victim or her legal representative can register a complaint to the respective women and children harassment committee. Moreover, victims of harassment themselves or their relatives can file a complaint to the administrative officer, the courts, provincial councils, districts councils or other relevant references. The authorities are required to record their complaint and deal with the case as per provisions in this law.
According to the law, filed complaints shall be reviewed by the Anti-Harassment Committee of the respective government agencies without any delays. Review of complaints registered with other institutions will be conducted by the receiving entity.
According to the recent statistics by the Ministry of Justice, in 1396 over 75 thousand people across the country received awareness on the prevention of harassment, prevention of violence against women and women’s financial rights.
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