UNITED NATIONS ( CNN ) -- Rapes targeting girls as young as seven are on the increase in Afghanistan where conditions for women are little better than under the Taliban , the U.N. and rights groups say . Conditions for women are little better than they were under the hardline Taliban regime , the U.N. says . In its annual report on human rights , the U.N. warned conditions were deteriorating in the war-ravaged country despite U.S.-led efforts after the 2001 removal from power of the hardline militia . `` Violence is tolerated or condoned within the family and community , within traditional and religious leadership circles , as well as the formal and informal justice system , '' said Navi Pillay , the U.N. high commissioner for human rights . The `` Afghan government has failed to adequately protect the rights of women despite constitutional guarantees . '' With a resurgent Taliban targeting NATO forces , government security forces and civilians , violence has been on the increase in Afghanistan.. The number of civilian casualties in 2008 totaled 2,118 -- the highest number recorded since the ouster of the Taliban in 2001 , the U.N. said , urging greater protecting for ordinary Afghans . Violence against women comes in the form of rape , `` honor killings , '' early and forced marriages , sexual abuse and slavery , the report says . `` The security is the big issue , '' said Suraya Pakzad , founder of the Voice of Women Organization , which promotes education and awareness of women 's rights and protects women and girls at risk in Afghanistan . `` Because of security we , unfortunately , day by day , we have to pull out of areas where last year we operated , we have our operations . We were able to work with the women , but this year we can not , '' she said . `` We have to leave the area because security is getting worse day by day . '' `` Rapes in the country have been growing tremendously , particularly child rapes within the ages of 9 , 8 , 7 , even lesser than that , '' said Wazhma Frogh , director of Global Rights Afghanistan . `` So these are the issues that are all born by this lack of security where women have no place in ... security decisions . '' Domestic violence against child brides is widespread , said Suraya Pakzad , the founder of the Voice of Women organization , who was married at age 14 and has six children . She said girls as young as 10 face `` violation '' by husbands 40 years their senior . `` By the end ... women , or girls , run away . '' But women without husbands , especially widows , may have it even worse in Afghanistan , the report says . Without a spouse , the women are reduced to begging to feed their children . Options outside the home are limited where the Taliban holds sway in Afghanistan . The Taliban 's interpretation of strict Islamic law , or sharia , has included banning girls from school and the workplace . Even in areas not overrun by the Taliban , women face risks outside the home . `` The assassination of the most prominent national female senior police officer , in Kandahar in September 2008 , underscores the tremendous risks faced by women in public life , '' the report says .
Afghan women 's rights are little better than under Taliban , report says . Comment: United Nations calls for better protection for civilians .