Children in conflict with the law in Afghanistan

We’re helping ensure that vulnerable children in western Afghanistan

have a properly trained social welfare system to protect them from abuse

or neglect. Plus we’re supporting kids who are caught up in the

Afghan justice system.

Afghanistan has a barely functioning social welfare system and the concept of social work is relatively new. It is still a country with tribes who have a lot of influence in local laws and the interpretation and implementation of them. Theirs is a conservative culture and they are very protective of their children – particularly the girls. But when girls come into conflict with these laws they are often accused of committing so-called ‘honour crimes’. These can include running away from home or refusing an arranged marriage.

Life in juvenile detention is very very difficult. Children have little to no access to an education and are sometimes denied essentials such as food, water and a safe place to sleep.

Once girls are deemed to have brought shame on their family, it is very hard for them to be welcomed back into it. There isn’t really a welfare state in Afghanistan – families and communities have traditionally filled that role and protected their children. But when those children are failed by this system, they have no-one to turn to. Every year, hundreds of girls and young women try to take their own lives by self-immolation (setting themselves on fire).

What we're doing

Training staff in Juvenile Detention law
We’ve been working in a Juvenile Rehabilitation Centre where children aged 13 to 18 are detained. Many of the boys are held for crimes like petty theft, a lot of the girls are there due to ‘adultery and eloping’. We have trained local police leaders, community leaders and staff at the detention centres in alternatives to pre-trial detention and juvenile law. When children have served their sentences, War Child assists in building bridges with families in the hope they can return home to them.

Providing a kindergarten and playground for kids with mums in women’s prison
When women are imprisoned in Afghanistan, they often have to take their young children with them. The children are locked up for most of the day and don’t get the chance play or to get an education. We’ve built a playground in a local kindergarten and we’re helping transport children from the prison to the kindergarten so they get the chance to play and to learn how to socialise with other children.

In 2012 we hope to oversee the transition of control of the programme from War Child to the local Afghan government. This means that children living in prison will continue to access the kindergarten for years to come.