By Saleha Soadat
The police commander of western Badghis province Abdul Jabar Salah was accused in the Afghan parliament session on Saturday of raping three policewomen under his command.
Badghis MP Mohammad Musa Janab made the accussation in parliament, saying that President Hamid Karzai had been informed.
"The police commander of Badghis, Mr Jabar, raped three policewomen. I told President Karzi and President Karzai ordered the Ministry of Interior to dismiss him, but the Interior Ministry hasn't taken any action and they have not taken notice of this matter," Janab said.
The police commander of western Badghis province Abdul Jabar Salah. (Photo: TOLOnews.com)
TOLOnews has obtained a video of a woman claiming she was raped by Jabar and that she is ready to testify.
"Mr Jabar raped me by force," she says in the video. "This event is not a lie. In fact, I'm ready to tell all the people."
Jabar denied all the accusations in a telephone call with TOLOnews Saturday.
"These statements are not true," he said. "I just did not do this and I do not need to give you any more information."
Despite the MP's claims that Karzai has ordered Jabar to be investigated and dismissed, the Ministry of Interior (MOI) appears to have taken no action.
Despite TOLOnews' requests for comment Saturday, the MOI has refused to discuss the matter.
In March, US radio station NPR reported from Balkh province's Mazar-e-Sharif that policewomen were facing systemic sexual coercion and even rape by male colleagues.
Policewomen interviewed for the report said that they were ashamed to admit they were in the police force because the sexual abuse of the female officers was so well-known.