No human development can be achieved as long as women and girls continue to suffer from violence or live in fear of it.'

"A promise is a promise: Time for action to end violence against women" is the theme of this year International Women's Day that UNFPA Afghanistan celebrates with the Ministry of Public Health to highlight that gender-based violence remains a major health and human rights concern and to ensure that reproductive health rights are granted for all Afghan women as one of the most powerful strategy to eliminate violence against women.

In 2012 UNFPA supported MoPH in training more than 1500 services providers on Gender Based Violence prevention and response. With the ultimate goal to create a safe and non-violent environment for women and girls, UNFPA is also providing support to build a coordinated multi-sectoral response to gender-based violence by integrating professional assistance and referral services into the health sector.

One of the most spread forms of violence in Afghanistan is early marriage. More than 46 per cent of Afghan women are married before age 18, according to the Afghanistan Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2010/2011, and more than 15 per cent before age 15. To remind that Early Marriage denies a girl of childhood, disrupts her education, limits her opportunities, increasing her risk of being a victim of violence and abuse, and jeopardizes her health, UNFPA leads a communication campaign that after a cartoon story evolved in a video animation available in Dari and Pashto (click here to see the video animation) that will be distributed nationwide by the Ministry of Public Health, the Ministry of Women Affairs and by others UN partners AFPs (UNDP, UNICEF, UN WOMEN and UNAMA).

د استاد ملالۍ د ژوند کیسی - د زرمینی له وخت څخه مخکی واد