In Afghanistan's Lashkar Gar prison, two-thirds of women are jailed for illegal sexual conduct, but most are rape victims. According to security officer Colonel Ghulam Ali, Islamic law allows rape victims to be subject to this treatment. The maximum punishment for a first offense of illegal sexual engagement in Afghanistan is 10 years imprisonment; a second offense involves a 20-year term.
Problems in the Lashkar Gar prison include female prisoners being forced to keep their children with them if others will not take them, and a lack of basic necessities such as clean water and electricity.
A new Women and Children's Justice Shura (consultative council) formed in August in Helmand province to work for ending abuse of women.
Compiled from: “The Afghan women jailed for being victims of rape”, The Independent, 18 August 2008.