Afghanistan: Woman Accused of Adultery Stoned to Death
A video surfaced recently showing a group of men stoning a woman to death after she was accused of adultery when she escaped with another man after she was forced to marry against her will.
In the video, more than a dozen men surround the woman who was stuck in a hole. The men later start picking up stones and hurled them at the woman repeatedly. The woman is heard crying as the men continue to hurl rocks at her.
According to CNN, governor of Ghor province Seema Joyenda said the killing occurred in a town controlled by the Taliban in central Afghanistan just outside Firozkoh just last week. The woman was 19 years old and identified as Rokhshana.
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Two days after Rokhshana and the man were caught, the Taliban leader of the village had Rokhshana stoned to death for adultery. The tradition goes back to ages wherein a woman who runs away with another man is given no right to stand for her decision and is faced with death by stoning.
Joyenda is one of the two female governors in Afghanistan, and while she wants to help put an end to the atrocities against women in her country, she said provincial authorities had no power to fight the Taliban forces controlling the village of Aurdak.
"It was really inhumane," she said. Joyenda said she asked for help from President Ashraf Ghani. However, she is uncertain when reinforcement such as men and enough weapons will come to help in her attempt to redeem territories seized by the Taliban.
Amnesty International released a report in April, raising its concerns about the violence against women in the country and the persecution women receive from Taliban forces and even government officials, but it seems no one has given attention to the call for help.
The U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan also said in the same month that "The prevalence of violence against women and harmful practices continues to be of serious concern," referring to the previous attacks on women in the country by tribal warlords.
Earlier this year, a 27-year-old woman named Farkhunda was beaten and kicked to death before being tossed off a bridge in Kabul by numerous men after she was accused of burning the Quran.
Four men associated with Farkhunda's death have been sentenced to death by an Afghan judge and eight others received sentences of 16 years behind bars.
