Her eyes brimming with tears, 20-year-old Nilofar drew back her headscarf to reveal a mutilated ear. She explained that her husband had ripped off a chunk of her earlobe with his teeth during a recent argument.
Nilofar, who lives in Charikar city in Parwan province, said she had been beaten and abused from the start of her three-year marriage.
Her husband was arrested but only held for a short time before being released. Nilofar said that his connections to powerful local men meant he had been able to escape prosecution.
Activists in Parwan province, 70 kilometres northwest of Kabul city, warn that widespread corruption is allowing perpetrators of gender violence to escape justice.
During a two-month investigation, IWPR spoke to dozens of women and activists about their experiences of gender violence and judicial corruption.
Many domestic violence survivors told IWPR that their cases had been derailed by the intervention of powerful individuals.
People with connections to local warlords or influential officials were routinely able to exploit their position to evade prosecution.
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