Afghanistan joined the rank of countries that launched ‘We Can’ by becoming the sixth country to broaden the social dialogue on the issue of violence against women, especially domestic violence. The launch assumed significance as it was initiated at the provincial level during the worldwide 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence.

Eight organisations in Kabul who have a wide outreach in provinces currently form the core campaign alliance and will take the lead in giving shape to ‘We Can’ in the country and to gather support from many other organizations within the country and from people at large. These organisations are: Afghan Women’s Skills Development Centre (AWSDC); Afghanistan Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency - Falah (ARRAF); Health and Development Centre for Afghan Women (HDCAW); Norwegian Church Aid (NCA); Christian Aid (CA); Afghan Women Resource Centre (AWRC), Afghan Women Network (AWN) and Oxfam GB in Afghanistan.

Press conferences were organised in four provinces, namely, Parwan, Herat, Jalalabad and Mazar during this period. Workshops will follow to introduce the campaign and its issues to the local people. Walkathons were organized in Mazar and Jalabad as a public demonstration of the campaigner’s determination to end violence against women. Campaign materials (that included posters, leaflets and a campaign brochure) were released on the occasion.

Violence against women in Afghanistan is intense and pervasive both in public and private spheres. Fifty percent of women live with domestic violence. A recent study by UNIFEM that reviewed the lives of 1,327 women found 82 percent of them to suffer domestic violence. While 44.8 percent undergo physical abuse, 33.8 percent are subject to psychological violence and 17.2 percent to sexual coercion.