Afghan women's 'lives at risk'

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Government's plan to take over the running of women's shelters prompts criticism from rights groups.

The Afghan government has announced it is to take over the running of women's shelters despite concerns from human-rights groups that such a move could put lives at risk.

The safe houses are run by foreign and Afghan charities to protect women from domestic violence, but some conservatives and religious leaders accuse them of being fronts for prostitution or set up to remove women from their families.

"The government of Afghanistan, after investigating the status of the safe houses, has proposed a regulation that authorises the ministry of women's affairs to assume control over all existing women's shelters in Afghanistan," Husun Bano Ghazanfar, Afghan women's affairs minister, said on Tuesday.

She said taking control of shelters was part of an "Afghanisation" process under which Afghan military and officials assume greater control of their war-torn country from the international community.

But human-rights groups sharply condemned the plans.

More with Video (Al Jazeera)http://english.aljazeera.net//news/asia/2011/02/20112151789998563.html

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