A/HRC/10/23 page 9 IV. DISCRIMINATION 27. Equal rights for women and men are enshrined in the Constitution of Afghanistan which, moreover, obliges the Government to respect international human rights laws and standards, including its obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women ratified in 2003. 28. A National Action Plan for the Women of Afghanistan (NAPWA) was adopted in May 2008. Its implementation is considered an important benchmark for the promotion of gender equality within the 2006 Afghanistan Compact. ANDS recognizes gender as a cross-cutting issue and seeks to establish “greater gender equality by eliminating discrimination”. The reduction of women’s vulnerability to violence in both domestic and public life, and improved access to gender sensitive justice systems are key objectives of the ANDS. A. Violence against women and access to justice 29. The Government is failing to adequately protect the rights of women in Afghanistan despite constitutional guarantees and its international obligations. While women have made important advances in the spheres of education, employment and political participation in the post-Taliban regime years, they continue to confront discriminatory laws, attitudes and practices. Of particular concern is the long history of violence against women and girls which impacts on their private and public lives. This violence is widespread and deeply rooted in conservative religious and traditional values in Afghan society whereby women’s second-class status is perpetuated as a result of systemic and systematic discrimination. Violence is tolerated or condoned within the family and community, within traditional and religious leadership circles as well as the formal and informal justice systems. The plight of women is exacerbated by growing lawlessness that can be attributed, partly, to the pervasive climate of impunity. 30. Violence against women and children and harmful traditional practices manifest themselves in various forms, such as rape, “honour killings”, early and forced marriage, sexual slavery (in particular when girls are given away in marriage to settle family debts or disputes), sexual abuse in detention, and female victims of violence criminalized by the justice system. Much of this violence is perpetrated within the family; however, local power-brokers, the formal and traditional justice systems, the police and prison authorities also play their part in reinforcing social control over women and in condoning such violence. 31. The rape of women and children remains widespread though its true extent is concealed by underreporting. Most perpetrators continue to go unpunished. Nevertheless, there are signs of increasing willingness on the part of victims to report rape, and of the authorities to investigate and prosecute some cases. A number of high-profile cases during 2008 again brought the problem of rape to public attention; this may contribute to removing the social stigma attached to rape and the problems faced by rape victims. In August 2008 the President called for “rapists to face the country’s most severe punishment”. This followed public outrage and demands for justice after a 12-year-old girl was raped in Sari Pul province. In this particular instance, an official inquiry led to the dismissal of several officials from their posts. Around the same time,