Disir
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- Sep 30, 2011
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Zainab, 26, holds a unique position in Kandahar: she is the only female prosecutor in the whole of the southern Afghan province.
A graduate from the Sharia faculty of Kabul university, she has been working in the elimination of violence against women department of Kandahar’s attorney general’s office for 18 months.
In the last year alone, she has resolved nearly 50 cases related to women. But Zainab says that this is just the tip of the iceberg, and the Afghan judicial system badly needs more female professionals.
A female prosecutor, she continued, was as important as a female doctor in helping women get their rights. Conservative traditions meant that it was very hard for many women to talk openly about their problems to a man.
“I have a special interest in serving women,” Zainab said. “I want to listen to their legal problems and share these with the relevant government authorities. In fact, lots of women in Kandahar have no information about their rights and in fact no idea what rights are.”
Many families within Kandahar’s conservative society are opposed to female education, let alone women working outside the home. Security is also very poor in many parts of the province is very poor, with soaring levels of unemployment.
The situation has been made worse by increased fighting, an economic slowdown since most coalition forces left in 2014 and a sharp rise in the number of returnees from Pakistan.
Kandahar’s Sole Female Prosecutor
There would be more if they cut out the fighting.
A graduate from the Sharia faculty of Kabul university, she has been working in the elimination of violence against women department of Kandahar’s attorney general’s office for 18 months.
In the last year alone, she has resolved nearly 50 cases related to women. But Zainab says that this is just the tip of the iceberg, and the Afghan judicial system badly needs more female professionals.
A female prosecutor, she continued, was as important as a female doctor in helping women get their rights. Conservative traditions meant that it was very hard for many women to talk openly about their problems to a man.
“I have a special interest in serving women,” Zainab said. “I want to listen to their legal problems and share these with the relevant government authorities. In fact, lots of women in Kandahar have no information about their rights and in fact no idea what rights are.”
Many families within Kandahar’s conservative society are opposed to female education, let alone women working outside the home. Security is also very poor in many parts of the province is very poor, with soaring levels of unemployment.
The situation has been made worse by increased fighting, an economic slowdown since most coalition forces left in 2014 and a sharp rise in the number of returnees from Pakistan.
Kandahar’s Sole Female Prosecutor
There would be more if they cut out the fighting.
