Group: Give Tajikistani women justice

DUSHANBE, Tajikistan, Nov. 23 (UPI) -- Authorities in Tajikistan must prosecute violence against women as a criminal offense, Amnesty International said in a report published Monday.

The report documents the physical, psychological and sexual abuse women face and urges the authorities to address it as the crime it is and not to dismiss it as a "private family matter," Amnesty International said of "Violence Is Not Just a Family Affair: Women Face Abuse in Tajikistan," in a release

"Women in Tajikistan are beaten, abused and raped in the family but the authorities tend to reflect the societal attitude of blaming the woman for domestic violence," said Andrea Strasser-Camagni, the international human rights organization's expert on Tajikistan.

Since the break-up of the Soviet Union, traditional Tajik family values constricted the rights of women by "narrowing their identity to that of wife and mother, or pushing them into the lowest paid sector of the job market," she said.

By classifying violence against women as a family affair, Tajik authorities are "shirking their responsibility to a large part of the population," giving the perpetrators a sense of impunity and "ultimately, denying women their human rights."

Amnesty International urged the Tajik authorities to:

-- Prevent and prosecute violence against women in the family through effective domestic laws and nationwide support services.

-- Conduct a public awareness campaign to address unlawful practices of unregistered, polygamous and early marriages.

-- Remove barriers to girls' education and address the causes of girls dropping out of school.