KABUL — Afghanistan’s top female official began a verbal assault on women’s shelters Tuesday, accusing them of corruption and mismanagement, and insisting that the government was determined to take control of them, whether or not donors continued to provide financial support.
The shelters, nearly all supported by Western charities and governments, provide havens for women and girls fleeing sexual and physical abuse, and give the runaways an alternative to seeking help from the authorities, who often forcibly return them to their families. That sometimes subjects them to further abuse.
New rules would put government officials in charge of the shelters and provide close monitoring of their activities — which could subject the unmarried girls in them to virginity tests, critics complain.
