Herat, Afghanistan

(EPA/JALIL REZAYEE)

Afghan women pass by US soldiers, as world observes International Women’s Day, in Herat Afghanistan on 08 March 2010. Afghanistan’s independent human rights watchdogs and civil society organisations have been saying that gender violence has reached an alarming level in the country and efforts must be redoubled to tackle it. Forced marriages and a lack of education contribute to a recent spate of suicide attempts among women in Afghanistan, reports said.