A young Afghan woman was stoned
to death after being accused of adultery, officials said Tuesday, a
medieval punishment apparently recorded in a video that harks back to
the dark days of Taliban rule.
The
30-second clip run in Afghan media shows a woman in a hole in the
ground as turbaned men gather around and hurl stones at her with
chilling nonchalance.
The
woman, named by officials as Rokhsahana and aged between 19 and 21, is
heard repeating the shahada, or Muslim profession of faith, her voice
growing increasingly high-pitched as stones strike her with sickening
thuds.
The killing took place about a
week ago in a Taliban-controlled area just outside Firozkoh, the capital
of central Ghor province, officials said, confirming the video which
was sourced and released by international broadcaster Radio Free
Europe/Radio Liberty.
"Yes,
the footage shown in the media is related to Rokhsahana, who was stoned
to death," a spokesman for Ghor's Governor Seema Joyenda said.
Rokhsahana was stoned by a gathering of "Taliban, local religious leaders and armed warlords", Joyenda said.
Joyenda,
one of only two female governors in Afghanistan, said Rokhsahana's
family had married her off against her will and that she was caught
while eloping with another man her age -- seen as tantamount to
adultery.
The man was let off with a lashing, Joyenda's spokesman said.
The brutal punishment meted out
to Rokhsahana highlighted the endemic violence against women in Afghan
society, despite reforms since the hardline Taliban regime fell in 2001.
- 'Conservative attitudes' -
In
March a woman named Farkhunda was savagely beaten and set ablaze in
central Kabul after being falsely accused of burning a Koran.
The mob killing triggered protests around the country and drew global attention to the treatment of Afghan women.
Joyenda
condemned the stoning in Ghor, calling on Kabul to launch a military
operation to rid the area of insurgents and other armed groups.Source: Yahoo News
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