Gender Discrimination and the Principle of Equality in International Human Rights Documents and Afghanistan's Legal System

Abstract

Gender equality and the prohibition of discrimination against women are fundamental topics in the human rights discourse in the modern era. Since these inequalities are applied to half of the people of human society, it is still a controversial and unresolved global issue. Gender discrimination and inequality against women is rooted in various factors including culture, traditions, patriarchal culture, and unfair laws of countries. Today, gender discrimination is considered against human dignity and values and the principle of human equality. For this reason, any inequality and discrimination in important international human rights documents and covenants, the basic laws of most countries have been negated and prohibited. However, gender inequality is a pervasive phenomenon seen not only in underdeveloped countries but also in the hidden social layers of developed societies. Afghanistan is one of the countries that suffers from the problem of gender inequality. Mechanisms to guarantee gender equality were included in the constitution of the Republic of Afghanistan and the civil laws of the same period. However, gender inequality is still considered a fundamental problem in the way of human development in Afghanistan.