Human Rights Watch Criticizes the Punishment of Women

Human Rights Watch says in a news report titled I Had to Run Away that many women in Afghanistan have been imprisoned for 'moral crimes.'

These crimes also include running away from home and sex outside of marriage.

According to Kenneth Roth, the group's executive director, in an article for Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the woman or girl is running away from domestic violence or forced marriage.

According to Al Jazeera, the report states that 400 women and girls need to be freed. The report also criticizes the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, saying that they have failed to execute the obligations in accordance with international human rights law.

In the report, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, even if a women is raped, she is punished instead of the suspect.

"Afghanistan is the only Islamic government in the world that specifically criminalised running away," said Heather Barr, an Afghanistan researcher at the New York-based organization, in an Al Jazeera article.