Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) on Sunday released its yearly report on violence against women and said in the last year (1396 Solar Year) over 4,000 cases of violence against women were registered by the commission.

The report says that the number of cases has increased by 11,7 percent against the previous year adding that the increase of kangaroo courts in the country is also worrying. 
According to the report, most cases of violence against women have remained unreported due to the lack of access for women to human rights institutions. 
AIHRC officials said the culture of impunity and lack of law enforcement have been the main reasons behind the continued violence against women. 
“One of the problems that we face at the commission is the culture of impunity,” AIHRC head Sima Samar said. 
Human rights commission has divided the cases of violence against women in to physical, sexual, verbal and economic violence. 
Physical violence: 
In the last year (1396 Solar Year), the murder rate of women increased by eight percent and most incidents happened in the north, south and east of the country. According to the report, out of 277 murder cases, 136 of them were honor killings.  In the last year, 277 murder cases were registered by the commission, while in the previous year the number was 234. 
Sexual violence: 
The report says that due to traditions and customs, people and victims are reluctant to register such cases of violence to the commission. According to the report, AIHRC has recorded 228 cases of sexual violence. 
Economic violence: 
Prohibiting women from working outside the house, not paying alimony and dowries have been mentioned as economic violence against women. Last year, the commission dealt with 749 economic violence cases. 
Verbal violence: 
Accusations, humiliation, especially for not having female babies, insults and verbal threats have been highlighted as verbal violence against women. The commission recorded 1,317 such cases. 
The report says that of all places, including public places, homes, workplaces, hospitals, schools, universities and other educational places, houses have been recognized as the worst place for women. 
"Considering all the mental pressures and harassment, when the women wants to complain, their problems are not addressed as it should be," MP Kubra Mustafavi said.
The report findings show that 90 percent of violence has been committed by male members of the families. 
The report says that in the last year, 12 men and women have lost their lives in kangaroo courts in different parts of the country and three others, including two women, have been injured. 
“The number of cases of violence against women are less than last year. Because the number of people  (who comes to us) is one thing and the types of violence is another thing. It does not mean that the rate of violence has decreased.  (This year) more people have been referred to us and the reason is that (last year) more people did not have access to (human rights organizations),” Samar said. 
"The Attorney General’s Office has probed incidents that have happened in 34 provinces of the country and have made decisions on them," the Attorney General’s Office spokesman Jamshid Rasooli said.
According to the report, continued violence against women has caused women to suffer from psychological disorders, to burn themselves, commit suicide, flee from home, and stop going to school, university and work.