Western nations should evacuate Afghan policewomen who faced sexual abuse, HRW says

Nato subordinate nations should evacuate Afghan policewomen who were sexually abused and harassed portion they served nether the erstwhile Western-backed medication and present look a increasing menace from the Taliban, Human Rights Watch has urged.

The US, Canada, Britain, Germany and different countries that contributed subject forces to the 20-year warfare successful Afghanistan indispensable enactment the erstwhile policewomen with asylum and prioritise them for exile resettlement, the quality rights watchdog has said.

Some 3,800 women who served successful the Afghan constabulary aft 2013, aiding Nato successful carrying retired instrumentality and bid functions, consciousness betrayed not lone due to the fact that they were not evacuated but their grievances astir intersexual harassment claims went unheard, researchers astatine Human Rights Watch told The Independent.

In a study titled “Double Betrayal: Abuses against Afghan Policewomen Past and Present”, the radical notes that threats from the Taliban person forced galore of these erstwhile policewomen to spell into hiding. While immoderate person escaped to neighbouring Pakistan and Iran, thousands stay wrong the country, the group’s Afghanistan researcher Fereshta Abbasi told The Independent.

The study urges the US, UK, EU, Canada, and Japan to settee these susceptible women arsenic refugees connected a precedence basis.

One erstwhile policewoman recounted her intersexual maltreatment to Ms Abbasi. “The territory constabulary main came to her location astatine nighttime and raped her. Her hubby was distant that day. She cried successful beforehand of me. She said she couldn’t record a ailment due to the fact that she feared her hubby would divorcement her and she would suffer custody of her children.”

Another erstwhile policewoman, successful southeastern Khost province, told the watchdog she witnessed antheral guards harassing women, stopping them and adjacent touching them. “The caput of quality for my presumption truly harassed me. He told maine that helium could bash immoderate helium wanted to me,” she said.

Fear of getting disowned by their families for moving successful constabulary was already rampant earlier the Taliban took implicit and made the concern worse for these women.

“Almost each of them person received threatening calls from the Taliban, their houses person been raided. They are being threatened by the Taliban but besides by their families due to the fact that being a policewoman was ne'er accepted successful the Afghan society,” Ms Abbasi told The Independent.

A erstwhile policewoman said the Taliban called and asked her to instrumentality to her aged occupation but didn’t specify what they wanted her to do. The Taliban person been recovered to harass and punish Afghans they see to person collaborated with Western forces and the medication backed by them.

“I got frightened and chopped the telephone call,” she said. “Again I received a telephone telephone and this clip I was asked, ‘Will you travel by yourself oregon shall we travel and resistance you by the hair?”

The pistillate said she wears a disguise and glasses erstwhile she steps retired to debar being recognised. “If radical find out, they mightiness rat maine retired to the Taliban that I utilized to enactment for police,” she told the watchdog.

Ms Abbasi said Afghan women serving successful constabulary until the Taliban took backmost the region were subjected to predominant intersexual battle and harassment.

Many were propositioned by superiors for enactment successful speech for promotions oregon to debar dismissal. “I spoke to 1 of the erstwhile policewomen who said she served the authorities successful the aforesaid occupation relation for 20 years due to the fact that she rejected demands of intersexual favours,” she said.

“Now, they are asked to travel backmost by the Taliban to bash menial jobs arsenic sweepers, situation guards oregon clerks, but cipher tin guarantee their safety.”

Many of the women interviewed by Human Rights Watch reported suffering from intelligence distress and trauma, anxiety, slump and panic attacks from the maltreatment they experienced. They are incapable to find oregon adjacent spend psychosocial enactment arsenic aesculapian assistance is scarce nether the Taliban, the radical said.

“The conditions nether the Taliban are abysmal and horrifying but that doesn’t mean these policewomen who served alongside the UK and the US among different nations don’t get to clasp those who harassed them accountable,” Ms Abbasi said.

The Nato states that funded and trained Afghan policewomen should besides property the Taliban to extremity abuses against women, she said.