The Ministry of Women’s Affairs has registered 51 cases of violence against women in the past 11 months (since January 2019), which is a slight increase from the previous year.

The deputy minister of women’s affairs for policy, Spozhmai Wardak, said the cases include murder, beating, rape, inciting suicide attempts and “kangaroo courts.”

The provinces with the most frequent reported cases were Faryab with 12, Badghis with 10, Sar-e-Pul with seven, and Bamiyan with five.

“The main causes are conservative traditions, poverty, multiple marriages,” she said, adding that inexperience and a lack of understanding about women’s rights are also causes.

Wardak said that the figures show a slight increase--0.1%--compared to the same period last year, and that the numbers might be higher as some cases might be unreported.

The murder of woman journalist Mina Mangal in Kabul, the gang rape of a midwife in Samangan, the case of the rape of a 10-year-old girl in Badghis, the beating of a woman, Lal Bibi, in Faryab, and the beating of Hamida, a woman in Bamiyan, are some major incidents of violence against women reported in the country over the past 11 months.

The case of Lal Bibi, in Faryab, is under investigation, the deputy minister of women’s affairs said. But Ms. Wardak said she is concerned about attempts by a number of strongmen to release those who were taken into custody over the case.

Figures provided by the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission show that 2,762 cases of violence against women were registered in seven months (late March 2019 to October 2019) of the current solar year, which is an 8% increase compared to the same period in 2018.

The provincial directorate of women’s affairs in Helmand released a figure last week indicating that there was a 20% increase in cases of violence against women compared to the last solar year, with 97 cases registered since late March.