2006年VOA标准英语-Report: Domestic Violence Widespread in Afghani

By George Dwyer
Washington, D.C.
24 August 2006
 
watch UNIFEM report

A new report from UNIFEM -- the United Nations Development Fund for Women -- finds that violence against women in post-Taleban Afghanistan remains¹ widespread, and that much of it continues to go unreported. The report is narrated² by Shaista Mangal.

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Afghan woman  
  
The U.N. survey finds that women continue to suffer from high rates of domestic abuse in post-Taleban Afghanistan.  The report says violence typically occurs in the home at the hand of a spouse³.

Sumantra Guha is a program specialist in the Asia/Pacific section of UNIFEM -- the United Nations Development Fund for Women -- in New York. "Levels of sexual abuse, levels where intimate partners are involved in violence are quite high in Afghanistan," he says.

  
Sumantra Guha
  
Guha says victims frequently decline to report domestic abuse because of the social stigma⁴ attached. "If a woman goes and talks about violence against her, this is considered immodest, and she is supposed to have committed dishonor to her family. So this is the biggest reason why women don't come out."

Contributing factors include the general climate of violence in a nation at war, its often-limited economic resources, the traditional patriarchal ideology⁵ still common in many areas, and a lack of social systems to uphold legal rights.

   
  
"If you look at Afghanistan's constitution, Afghanistan's new constitution, it guarantees women and men equal rights as citizens. The problem is in the practice of those laws, is in the actual interpretation⁶ of those laws. Institutional justice mechanisms⁷ must expand their outreach right up to the village level."

The report's authors also believe that neither the government, communities, nor families are doing enough to prevent violence directed at women. But UNIFEM's Guha says that is beginning to change as the government attempts to implement⁸ a national action plan for women.

Women in the country now have the right to vote in elections   
  
"This national action plan for women has a major focus on violence and on protecting women's human rights. So we have very strong commitments solidly backed by the government and backed by its international development partners."

Prior to the overthrow⁹ of the Taleban regime in 2001, Afghanistan's women were barred from voting, formal schooling¹⁰, and employment outside the home. Since then, some gains have been made, including the right to participate in elections and stand female candidates for parliament. But the report concludes Afghanistan's women are still too often treated as second-class citizens.

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 narrated   

v.故事( narrate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Some of the story was narrated in the film. 该电影叙述了这个故事的部分情节。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Defoe skilfully narrated the adventures of Robinson Crusoe on his desert island. 笛福生动地叙述了鲁滨逊·克鲁索在荒岛上的冒险故事。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 spouse   

n.配偶(指夫或妻)

参考例句：

• Her spouse will come to see her on Sunday.她的丈夫星期天要来看她。
• What is the best way to keep your spouse happy in the marriage?在婚姻中保持配偶幸福的最好方法是什么？

4 stigma   

n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头

参考例句：

• Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
• The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。

5 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

6 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

7 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

9 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

10 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。