Women’s Participation in Domestic Violence Health Policy Development: Afghanistan Component

This report comprises the Afghanistan component of an internal project examining women’s participation in family and domestic violence health policy and policy development. Carried out across five different countries – Canada, Australia, Bangladesh, Thailand, and Afghanistan – the goal of the project was to describe the characteristic of the domestic violence health policy community in each country. The report begins with a rationale for the project and an introduction to the unique situation facing women in Afghanistan. A brief history of the recent conflict and current political situation follows. A description of the Afghan health sector and a summary of government and non-government organisations’ attempts to address violence against women and domestic violence are provided. A large part of this research was conducted based on interviews with local activists, who discussed issues of bad, self-immolation, domestic violence, and the response (or lack thereof) of the health sector.