New Delhi, Feb 20 (PTI) The Population Foundation of India (PFI) on Thursday termed as “shocking and dangerous” reports that the Taliban has formalised domestic violence as permissible so long as it does not result in “broken bones”, saying such a move amounts to legalisation of abuse.
The PFI is an NGO working in the field of population dynamics, gender equity and sexual and reproductive health (SRH).
“This penal framework has been shaped by a leadership whose primary instrument of control and governance is violence, and whose policies systematically dismantle women’s education, livelihoods, mobility and autonomy unless women accept subjugation,” said Poonam Muttreja, executive director, PFI.
She alleged that women are stripped of the freedom to learn, work and appear in public life independently, and are then told they may seek justice only under conditions structurally stacked against them.
“A woman may approach a court only with a male guardian, (she is) required to display her wounds, covered in a burka, to prove the extent of harm. It is akin to saying: shackle the slave, but grant her the ‘freedom’ to seek justice within the very system that shackles her. This cannot be accepted by a civilised world,” Muttreja said.
The PFI, in a statement, said such legal positioning reflects a wider global climate in which violence against women is increasingly minimised, rationalised or shielded by powerful systems.
Referring to demographic anxieties in various parts of the world, the foundation said women are being called upon to bear more children in the name of national identity or population concerns.
Whether it is fear of population collapse or population explosion, women’s rights become the first casualty, the statement said.
Citing World Health Organization estimates, the statement said nearly one in three women experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime.
“We seem to take two steps forward on women’s rights and one-and-a-half steps backwards,” said Muttreja.
“When violence is legally diluted, socially rationalised or shielded by powerful institutions, it creates a dangerous global precedent. Violence is not defined by broken bones. It is defined by a broken moral and ethical compass.” The PFI also said attempts to classify “acceptable” harm reinforce a culture of silence that already exists in many societies, including India, where survivors often do not report abuse due to stigma, economic dependence and fear.
“It is horrifying for victims to live in a world where their pain is debated, minimised or politicised,” Muttreja added.
“Men especially need to step up and challenge the culture that normalises control over women,” Muttreja said, adding, “The world will change when men change.” The PFI called for coordinated global responses beyond expressions of concern, saying that when states institutionalise violence, there must be consequences.
“This is not merely about Afghanistan, which represents the worst-case scenario. It is about the direction of global norms,” the statement said.
Reiterating that any attempt to redefine violence as tolerable under specific conditions is a direct assault on women’s dignity and autonomy, the foundation said every woman has the right to safety, dignity, livelihood, education and freedom, without conditions, without guardianship and without fear. PTI KSH KSH KSS KSS
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