Afghanistan's media watchdog Nai said Tuesday that the reported growth of violence against women is linked to a decline of women working in media roles.
Nai chief Sediqullah Tawhidi said that although Afghanistan's media were generally defenders of women's and human rights, violations against these rights had increased as women working in the profession dropped.
"The interest of women and girls to work in the media has declined across the country which is a worry because women can better report the cases of violence against women," Tawhidi said in a conference.
He also recognised that weak rule of law and justice organs were key contributors to the violence because perpetrators of violence are not punished.
Tawhidi urged the media to stop using the term "honor killing" in cases of violence where a family has killed a female member because it did not convey the reality of murder.
"Some of the words used and translated as 'honor killing' hurt women's rights so we ask the media to avoid using such terms," he added.
Afghan Women's Network has recorded 170 cases of violence against women in Afghanistan in the two last months, 32 of which were cases of murder.