A Human Rights (HRW) Watch report has urged the Afghan government to take immediate action to provide the country’s female police officers with access to private bathroom facilities to protect them from sexual harassment.
Currently, only a small number of provincial police stations provide bathrooms that are lockable or changing areas specifically designated for female officers. The report cited a number of media reports highlighting the rape of female officers by male colleagues, and said the lack of separate, secure toilets makes women more vulnerable to sexual harassment.
Women are often targeted when using shared toilets in isolated corners of stations, an international adviser to the police force said in the report. “Those facilities that women do have access to often have peepholes or doors which don’t lock. Women have to go in pairs. Toilets are a site of harassment,” the adviser said.
According to HRW figures, women in police ranks in Afghanistan account for just over 1% of the country’s 157,000 police officers. The Interior Ministry, which oversees the police force, has set a goal of 5,000 women on the force by the end of 2014, but concedes that it’s unlikely to meet its target.
Enlisting more female police officers is seen as necessary for improving access for women seeking to report violence and pursue justice, given the cultural stigma around addressing sexual and physical assault.
Workplace sexual harassment is an ongoing issue in professional sectors in Afghanistan and the report suggests that addressing the concerns of the policewomen is necessary to confront rampant sexual violence in the wider community.
“This is not just about toilets. It’s about the government’s recognition that women have a curicial role to play in law enforcement in Afghanistan” Brad Adams, Asia director at HRW said in the report.
“Harassment and abuse is an everyday experience for many Afghan women,” Adams said. “Without the consistent presence of female police officers across the country, legal protections for women will remain an unfulfilled promise.”
Sidiq Sidiqi, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry suggested that while women did have access to their own facilities at some major police stations, they are often lacking in the provinces.
He said the government was attempting to fix the problem, and had recently created a consultative council, including police, elders and clerics, to ensure a safer working environment for the female police officers.
But he said that the government should be given credit for overseeing a difficult transition after shunning cultural traditions by recruiting females into police forces in Afghanistan.
“That’s been quite an achievement,” Sidiqi said.