Number of women in drug trade rises

Related Articles

Deadly rainfall and flash floods strike Afghanistan and Pakistan

April 20, 2024

45 Afghan nationals arrested in Turkey

April 20, 2024

Iran executes four afghan nationals on drug charges

April 20, 2024

AT-KABUL: Women now play an increasing role in the drug trade compared to the past years, the Counter Narcotics Justice Center said Sunday.

It said that families are busy in drug smuggling and all the members of families are doing that, adding that some ladies are the leaders of small trafficking groups.

“We received 741 cases of drug smuggling last year that 28 of them were women. Among them are women that are leading the smuggling groups,” said Khaled Mowahed, spokesman for the center.

He said that women were forced to smuggle drugs in the past, but now, they do it themselves without pressures from other persons.

“Our last year investigations indicated that some women are leaders of drug trade groups, which means they are doing it by their choice,” said Mowahed.

Interior ministry had earlier said that women and children are used by the drug traffickers and they are pressured to do it. It added that 62 women were arrested last year for drug trafficking.

Salamat Azimi, minister of counter narcotics said that women and children are the victims of drug trafficking besides being victims of the war.

Spojmai Wardak, deputy women’s affairs minister, called it “violence against women”.

“Afghan women are misused in different parts that drug trafficking is a part of that. This is an example of violence against women that needs to be prevented,” she said.