Misconceptions about violence against women in Afghanistan
abound in the media and the imaginations of publics outside of
Afghanistan itself. Most of these promote the idea that most,
even all, forms of violence against Afghan women stem directly
from the thirty-four years of war Afghans have endured. The
emotional appeal of this narrative is obvious. It offers an all-
encompassing explanation for a gut-wrenching human rights
problem, and therefore an all-encompassing solution –find a way
to end the fighting, and violence against women will end too.
Unfortunately, that prescription isn’t backed up by much more
than wishful thinking. Here are three of the most common
misconceptions about violence against Afghan women. 1. Violence
against women is increasing. There’s no way to know if this is
true. Until mid last decade, women who were victims of gender-
based violence had nowhere to turn for help, no one was keeping
count of incidents, and it was virtually unheard of for Afghan
women to speak publicly about abus