DHAKA: Women make up only one per cent of Afghanistan’s police force and as a result women are reluctant to seek justice for rising levels of violence.

International aid agency Oxfam said on Tuesday, reports The Straits Times.

There is an average of one female police officer for every 10,000 women in Afghanistan, where reports of violence against women rose by 25 per cent in 2011-2012, Oxfam said in a report.

Women who join the police face huge challenges, both inside and outside the force, such as violence, sexual harassment and lack of equal treatment to their male colleagues, it said.

‘Policewomen often lack basic items, such as uniforms, which male colleagues receive. Many find themselves performing menial tasks (such as making tea),’ the report said.

BDST: 1920 HRS, SEPT 10, 2013
RoR/GCP