An Afghan woman has been granted a residency permit in Denmark along with her daughter — on the sole basis of their gender. The precedent set by the decision has been described as a landmark case.
The Afghan woman and her underage daughter, who arrived in Denmark in 2018, are the first to qualify for residency rights under the new regulations issued last week by the Danish Refugee Committee, which is a government department subordinate to the Danish Ministry for Immigration and Integration.
The country's immigration policy was adapted to specifically address the plight of women and girls from Afghanistan. With the new law, gender is now enough of a qualifier for female Afghan nationals to receive asylum in the EU member state. The ruling is in line with a recent decision issued by the EU Agency for Asylum (EUAA).
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The government said that in this particular case, "[t]he applicant has been granted a residence permit under Section 7(1) of the Aliens Act," which specifies that a residence permit can be granted to foreigners who are covered by the Refugee Convention of 28 July 1951 or similar grounds, including "membership of a particular social group or [holders of a] political opinion."
The asylum qualifications were changed because of the deteriorating situation for women and girls in Afghanistan since the violent Taliban takeover of power in August 2021 — including severe restrictions on education for girls and a ban for women on attending higher education institutions.
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Life under threat
The Refugee Committee explained that the Afghan woman, whose identity was kept anonymous, had lived in Iran since her childhood, adding however that she was at risk of being killed by her husband or his family if she were to return to Afghanistan — after having had a romantic affair with another man.
The husband had reportedly verbally, physically and sexually assaulted her in the past, and his family was said to be aware of her indiscretion outside the marriage, as was detailed in the woman's asylum application.
Acts of infidelity carry the death penalty in Afghanistan, and the method used is often the torturous technique of death by stoning.
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with dpa