BADAKHSHAN, Afghanistan — Afghan girls and women who have relationships with men outside marriage are often the target of brutal punishments — including public floggings, prison, and even death.
One teenage girl who is believed to have broken that social norm paid the ultimate price this week when her brother reportedly killed her after she ran away from home with her boyfriend.
The shocking incident was just the latest case in Afghanistan of so-called “honor” killings: the murder of women for allegedly dishonoring the family, such as eloping with men or committing adultery.
‘Stabbed To Death’
Police said Nazela, an 18-year-old woman, was strangled with electric wire and then stabbed to death in the Baharak district of the northeastern province of Badakhshan on May 1.
Noor Agha Naderi, the district governor of Baharak, told RFE/RL that the victim had rejected a marriage proposal to another man that had been arranged by her family.
Naderi said she ran away from home and took refuge at the district police headquarters with her boyfriend. But just two days later, her brother picked her up from the station and assured police that nothing would happen to her.
Within an hour, she was dead.
Unfortunately, when she arrived home, her brother stabbed her to death,” said Naderi. “The brother fled to a Taliban-controlled area.”
Authorities believe the victim’s brother escaped to Jurm district, which is controlled by the Islamic militant group, making it difficult for law enforcement to apprehend him.
The Taliban controls and contests parts of Badakhshan, a remote, mountainous province bordering Tajikistan, China, and Pakistan.
Naderi said the police officials who released the victim, knowing that she was in danger, have been suspended and are under investigation.
Arefa Nawid, the head of the provincial office of Afghanistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), blamed police for mishandling the case.
She said police should not have released the woman and instead should have transferred her to a women’s shelter.
“This happened because of [the police],” Nawid told RFE/RL.
The victim’s boyfriend has been placed under police protection.
‘Moral’ Crimes
So-called “moral offenses,” including adultery or even running away from home, are not considered crimes under the Afghan Criminal Code. But hundreds of women and girls have nevertheless been imprisoned after being convicted of “immorality” by courts dominated by religious conservatives.
In some rural areas, where Taliban militants exert considerable influence, residents often view government bodies as corrupt or unreliable and turn to Taliban courts to settle disputes.
