Law would ban relatives of the accused from testifying against them
法律将禁止被告家属作不利人证。
A new law in Afghanistan could allow men to abuse their wives, children and sisters and not face criminal prosecution by banning the relatives of an accused person from testifying against them.
阿富汗新出台的一项法律将允许男人虐待他们的妻子、子女和姐妹，而免受面临刑事指控，因为此法将禁止被告的家属指证他们。
If passed, the bill would make it much more difficult for victims to bring cases of abuse to court which often happen as they most often occur within the confines of the family home, The Guardian has reported.
《卫报》报道称，若该法案通过，将使受虐案件的诉讼难度大增，因为它们多发生在全家居住的房屋内。
The small change to a section of the criminal code Prohibition of Questioning an Individual as a Witness would also prevent doctors, children and defence lawyers from testifying in a case.
这个微小的变更涉及到刑法中“禁止审问作为证人的个人”的部分，还将使医生、儿童和辩护律师无法在案件中作证。

The bill has been passed by both houses of Parliament but is awaiting the signature of the conservative President Hamid Karzai, who by choosing to sign it will bring it into force. Campaigners are now calling on Karzai to refuse to sign the bill they assert will weaken "already inadequate" legal protections for women.
该法案已通过议会两院批准，正在等候保守派总统哈米德·卡尔扎伊签字，一旦签署即宣告生效。活动家们正在呼吁卡尔扎伊拒绝签署法案，因其削弱了女性“已经堪忧的”法律保障。
“President Karzai should reject a law that will effectively let batterers of women and girls off the hook,” Brad Adams, the Asia director of Human Rights Watch said in a statement.
人权观察组织（HRW）亚洲区主任布拉德·亚当斯在一份声明中说：“卡尔扎伊总统应该驳回这项允许虐妻和虐待女孩的人合法脱身的法律。”
HRW warned by signing the new criminal procedure, women would be denied protection from domestic violence and forced or child marriage by silencing victims and their family members who have witnessed their abuse.
人权观察组织警告称，一旦签署新刑事诉讼法，将迫使受害者和作为目击证人的家人沉默，妇女会失去在家庭暴力、强迫婚姻或童婚中的法律保护。
The proposed change comes after the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission reported a 26 per cent increase in the number of women saying they had been assaulted in 2013. Sima Samir, chair of the AIHRC said in January the brutality of attacks on women had greatly intensified during this time.
此次提议变更出现在阿富汗独立人权委员会发布一份报告后，报告显示2013年自称遭性侵害的女性增加26%。阿富汗独立人权委员会主席西玛·萨玛尔在1月份说近期对妇女的暴虐行径大大加剧。
"The brutality of the cases is really bad. Cutting the nose, lips and ears. Committing public rape," she said. "Mass rape... It's against dignity, against humanity."
“涉案暴行非常恶劣。（她们被）割掉鼻子、嘴唇和耳朵。有的甚至遭到公众奸淫。”她说道，“大规模的奸淫……这违反了人格尊严，罔顾人性。”
Opportunities for women seemingly improved after the Taliban was toppled from power in 2001, and the 2009 Law on the Elimination of Violence against Women (EVAW) made crimes of child marriage, forced marriage and rape for the first time under Afghan law, with tough penalties for domestic violence.
塔利班2011年倒台后，妇女的待遇似乎有所改善，而2009年通过的《消除对妇女暴力侵害法律（EVAW）》首次将童婚、强迫婚姻和强奸等罪置于阿富汗法律之下，严惩家庭暴力。
However, HRW argue this new bill threatens protections for women and girls provided within the EVAW law.
然而，人权观察组织表示，这项新法案会威胁到受EVAW法律保护的妇女和女孩。
“President Karzai should take a stand for Afghan women by sending the new law back to parliament with a message that he will not sign it until it is revised in line with the goals of the EVAW law and Afghanistan’s obligations under international law,” Mr Adams said.
亚当斯先生说：“卡尔扎伊总统应该维护对阿富汗妇女的主张，驳回议会的这项新法，以传达他绝不签署的决心，除非该法案修正至符合EVAW法律并遵守阿富汗在国际法律中所规定的义务。”