Afghan Woman Shot 9 Times By Taliban For Adultery- Video UPDATE

More from the barbaric Taliban in Afghanistan where a woman is simply another piece of property to be disposed of at will. The only way women will be treated as humans rather than animals is if the Taliban and all of their ilk are wiped off the face of this earth, which sadly will never happen.

The story: One woman, two Taliban commanders fighting over her, so they kill her instead claiming adultery. She had allegedly been involved with both the men, either romantically or through rape. She was shot nine times while the 150 or so men watching the execution cheered on saying it was the will of Allah .

Sickening.

A shot rings out, but the burqa-clad woman sitting on the rocky ground does not respond.

The man pointing a rifle at her from a few feet away lets loose another round, but still there is no reaction.

He fires a third shot, and finally the woman slumps backwards.

But the man fires another shot.

And another. And another.

Nine shots in all.

Around him, dozens of men on a hillside cheer: "God is great!"

Officials in Afghanistan, where the amateur video was filmed, believe the woman was executed because two Taliban commanders had a dispute over her, according to the governor of the province where the killing took place.

Both apparently had some kind of relationship with the woman, said Parwan province governor Abdul Basir Salangi.

"In order to save face," they accused her of adultery, Salangi said.

Then they "faked a court to decide about the fate of this woman and in one hour, they executed the woman," he added.

Both Taliban commanders were subsequently killed by a third Taliban commander, Salangi said.

"We went there to investigate and we are still looking for people who were involved in this brutal act," he said.

It is not clear from the video when it was filmed.

The killing took place in the village of Qimchok, not far north of the capital Kabul.

Lawmaker Fawzia Koofi called it a huge backward step for women's issues in Afghanistan.

"I think we will have to do something serious about this, we will have to do something as women, but also as human beings," she said. "She didn't even say one word to defend herself."

Koofi wept on Saturday as she watched the video of the execution.

There were the usual obligatory condemnations, including  NATO and the U.S., but the world is still willing to pledge money to a country that has seen a tremendous increase in violence against women and does absolutely nothing about it.

Read the rest here.

See the news video report here.

UPDATE:
The victim was 22-year-old Najiba, and Afghans are now calling the extra-judicial execution "Un-Islamic", and that the trial and execution were not per Shariah law guidelines.

In a case of adultery, there must be four witnesses, and these witnesses must testify that they actually saw the woman and a man together engaged in sexual intercourse," he said. "The judge should take all of this testimony to another judge and put all the evidence on the table. It is the second judge who checks that all of these procedures were done properly. "The second judge must then take all of the evidence to the higher Shari'a Supreme Court. The accused has the right to appeal against the verdicts issued by the lower courts. It is the Shari'a Supreme Court that makes the decision on the punishment."

Read more here.

Swedish Mosques Tell Women "Don't Report Abusive Husbands"

According to a Sveriges Television (SVT) undercover investigative report on Swedish mosques, six out of ten told women to shut up about domestic abuse and said polygamy was acceptable. SVT sent off two women (along with hidden video cameras) to pose as abused wives for the programme "Uppdrag granskning". They were tasked with finding out the mosques' position on domestic abuse, marital rape and polygamy, posing as women with those various problems. Those six mosques told both of the women to not report the abuse to police and that they should have sex with their men regardless of whether they wanted to or not. Only two mosques advised the women to report the abuse, and only one mosque said that polygamy was not allowed, given Swedish laws against multiple marriages.
Of course, Hanne Josefsson (the host of the television programme), got very different responses from two of the mosques.

The chair of the Islamic Association in Uppsala claimed in the story that people should follow Swedish law.

When confronted by what the imam at the Uppsala mosque told the women, the Islamic leader explained that the imam had expressed his personal opinion in urging the women to forgive their abusive husbands rather than report them to police.

The imam with whom the woman met at the mosque in Stockholm defended polygamy and also advised against filing a police report about husbands who beat them.

He suggested instead that the women try to show their husbands more love.

"Don't refuse to give him love, because then he might change," said the imam.

Upon seeing the SVT report, however, the board of the Islamic Association in Stockholm (Islamiska förbundet Stockholm) decided to suspend the imam immediately and launch an internal investigation.

"This is a clear breach of Swedish law and they commit professional misconduct in their capacities as imams and associations," Mohammad Fazlhashemi, a professor and author of books on Muslim intellectual history, told the TT news agency.

Fazlhashemi, who also appears in the SVT report, has reviewed a written transcript of the advice given to the women.

"What these men are saying to the woman violates their human rights. The men demean and insult the women when they say 'you need to tolerate that these men hit you'," said Fazlhashemi.

He is highly critical of the imams featured in the SVT report for not following Swedish law.

"Considering the fact that the mosques have received state funding, they have also committed to following Swedish law and the basic principles of democracy," he said.

Fazlhashemi describes the Muslim leaders featured in the piece as "conservative, letter of the law traditionalists".

"Now it's time for some housecleaning. They need to weed out the bad seeds," he said.

Fazlhashemi, who is also a Muslim, expressed concerns that such outdated mosque representatives benefit Muslim-haters and the far-right Sweden Democrats.

"They confirm the negative picture of Muslims. It's a real shame that they confirm the prejudices that Islamophobes have," he said.

We wouldn't have those prejudices, if this kind of  behaviour didn't exist. This is probably going on behind mosque walls all over the West, and more than likely in England, where Sharia law is allowed.

Here's a more detailed account of the programme "Uppdrag granskning" (Assignment Investigate).

Moroccan Teen Forced To Marry Rapist Did Not Commit Suicide, Was Forced To Drink Poison

Last month Moroccan rights activists were outraged after it was discovered that 16-year-old Amina al-Filali (aka Aminah al Fillaly) committed suicide by drinking rat poison as a result of being forced to marry her rapist.  In Morocco (and other Islamic countries), rapists can choose to marry their victims to avoid prosecution and jail time. This is what the rapist chose to do, and the family was forced to comply.

But now the mother has come forward claiming it wasn't a suicide but murder.

Emirates 24/7 reports the teen's mother said “My daughter told me just before her death that someone made her drink the rat poison." She did not name the person who forced the poison on her daughter, but went on to say “My daughter suffered greatly during her marriage with that man….he had not lived with her as a husband nor had he carried out his duty for her…..her husband had always mistreated her."


Hassan Al Fillaly, Aminah's father, said he objected to his daughter’s marriage to the man who raped her at knife-point, but that he bowed to tribal pressure which puts pressure on a family's honor to be preserved. Under Moroccan law the rapist was granted immunity from prosecution by marrying his victim.

Following Aminah's death there were calls for a change in the law. According to al-Akhbar, Morocco's Democratic League for Women's Rights organized a demonstration calling for a reform of the criminal code. Additionally Bassima Hakkaoui, Minister for Women and Families in Morocco's Islamic parliament, called for a debate to reform the law which protected the rapist at the expense of the raped child.

Whether the young girl committed suicide or was actually murdered by being forced to drink rat poison, she was the victim of a draconian religious law that re-victimizes women and allows men to get off  scot-free.

Will those laws change?  Probably not, at least until Islam somehow evolves and modernizes, which is doubtful.

Another Afghan Woman Tortured By Husband And In-Laws

Another case of wife torture in Afghanistan.

According to Khaama Press, in the capital city of northern Baghlan province, Pul-e-Khumri, Afghan police arrested Abdul Mateen for torturing his 22-year-old wife Reeka by

.... shaving her head, putting her on snow and beating with cables.

The individual was finally detained by Afghan security forces and is currently under the investigations.

In the meantime provincial women affairs department chief Rahima Zarifee praised the Afghan security forces and said the tortured Afghan lady was taken to a secure place and her husband along with the first wife of him was detained by Afghan security forces.

Reeka who was tortured by her husband said she got married with Abdul Mateen three years back and was tortured, humiliated and insulted by her husband during these three years, and was even to prostitution.

She also said she filed complain against her husband but went to her husband’s house due to continued requests and lack of residence where she was again tortured until the police forces were informed and arrested her husband.

This comes as the wave of violence against women have dramatically increased across the country specifically in northern Baghlan province which has created concerns among the government officials and local residents in this province.

This was the same region where they found the 15-year-old bride, Sahar Gul, who had been starved, severely tortured, and kept in a dark basement by her husband and in-laws for refusing to prostitute herself.

At least they survived, 28-year-old Fatima wasn't so lucky. She was hanged by her husband's family, and then they threw boiling water over her dead body.

If violence against women is escalating now, just wait until we pull out.

Very sad!

Spanish Imam Who Called On Muslim Men To Beat Their Wives Under Investigation

There are obviously some rather evolved members of a mosque in Terrassa, Spain,  because after the local imam encouraged the congregants to "discipline" misbehaving wives through 'physical and psychological violence',  the police are now investigating this unnamed Muslim cleric.

According to police, the imam is under investigation for

“disseminating discriminatory messages and violating the principle of equality and of women’s right to physical and moral integrity."

Apparently, he instructed men on the best way to punish their spouses and

“ provided concrete examples of the manner in which wives should be beaten, how to isolate them inside the family home and how to deny them sexual relations.”

I'd be surprised if the imam received anything more than a reprimand, but at least there are some in that community who aren't buying into the 'it says you should beat your wife in the Quran, so it's okay' mentality, and reporting it to the authorities.

This isn't the first controversy, however, regarding Muslims in that country. Catalonia, where Terrassa is located, has had other troubles with its large Muslim immigrant population.  The last controversy was in Lerida, where dogs were turning up poisoned, and in 2010 an imam was charged for harassing a woman for not wearing a veil.

UPDATE 3/7

Moroccan, Abdeslam Laaroussi, was arrested for promoting violence against women.

According to police, Laaroussi told his followers that it was best to punch women or use a stick on different parts of their bodies "without breaking their bones or making them bleed".

The Catalan police force, subpoenaed the man to give a statement, after complaints were filed that he was trying to encourage gender violence.

While he refused to give a statement, he was charged after investigators found that his speeches and sermons contained elements that promote violence and discrimination.

Way to go, Catalonia! Some jail time will do the oaf some good.

Update- H/T Islam in Europe

Iraqi Women Want Equal Or Tougher Laws For Men In 'Honor Killings'

Gender equality in the Arab/Middle Eastern world is pretty much non-existent. Whether rooted in religion or culture, or a combination of both, females have never fared well in that region, especially when it comes to the law. So, some Iraqi women activists are trying to change that.

A group of female activists, headed by the Minister of State for Women’s Affairs Ibtihal al-Zaidi (al-Maliki's only female cabinet member), are trying to change Article 409 of Iraq's Penal Code. According to Zaidi, Article 409, which is the law applicable to 'honor killings', unfairly favors men. Even though killing someone can land the murderer the death penalty, 'honor killings' are handled differently.  For that, you just get jail time, but women will spend far more time in prison than men.

She [Zaidi] recounted the story of a 12-year-old Iraqi girl who killed her father after she saw him committing adultery. She was sentenced to 15 years in jail.

“If a man saw one of his female dependents committing adultery, how would he be punished? Six months and he’ll get out."

“A woman, even a 12-year-old, got 15 years in jail for an act she committed out of fear and horror of what she saw.

“Definitely, we have brought up this issue and we asked ‘where is the fairness and justice?’. Here the sentence for a woman differs from a man’s. Fairness and equality is required in this issue,” Zaidi told Reuters in an interview on Sunday.

Zaidi said she was planning to present a recommendation to the cabinet to modify Article 409 to require the same sentence for male and female killers. But she believes any proposed changes to the law are likely to provoke a “strong reaction”.

“At the end of the day, we are a Middle Eastern culture where tribal norms dictate affairs,” said Zaidi, an Arabic linguist and independent member of Maliki’s ruling coalition.“We will require some time before these recommendations turn into law ... there needs to be social awareness about this issue.”

As it stands with Article 409 if a man “surprises his wife or one of his female dependents (who is) in a state of adultery or finds her in bed with a partner and kills her immediately, or kills one of them”, he'll get a max of 3 years.


She's also trying to deal with the terrible problem of domestic violence in Iraq.  Although official estimates claim 20 percent of women are abused, Sundus Abbas of  the women's rights organization 'Women's Leadership Institute', believes it's closer to a whopping 73 percent. Unlike Zaidi,  Abbas has a different perspective on Article 409.

Zaidi’s proposed changes to the honor killing law fail to address the issue, she said. Giving female killers the same rights as male killers would still provide “legal cover for violence against women”.

“It is not correct to give the husband the right to kill his wife under this pretext and to give the same right to the wife in the same provision,” she told Reuters.

“I believe (Article 409) must be abolished and instead have a law that punishes a crime regardless of the reason.”

Good luck with that. Changing the mindset of  a religiously conservative, tribal mentality, patriarchal society will take a lot more than abolishing or toughening laws, but at least they're making the effort.

Pakistan To Enact Tough Domestic Violence Law

Here's some surprising news out of Pakistan:  the Senate is finally doing something to protect women and children against domestic violence with a Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Bill.  The Bill also includes domestic workers in the home, who also are often subject to major mistreatment by their employers.

Senator Nilofar Bakhtiar's DV Bill, which passed unanimously in 2009 in the lower house of parliament and has now passed in the upper house, takes the whole issue of domestic violence one step further.  It won't just be a criminal offence to beat women and children, any act of violence including sexual, physical, or mental, any kind of harassment, hurt, intimidation, or "confinement and deprivation of economic of financial resources" will land someone in jail for up to six months.  They'll also be subject to a fine of at least $1,100 (100,000 rupees).

This is a major step considering it's actually a cultural and religious mandate to beat wives in Islam.




Apparently, prior to this law there were no repercussions for a man who beat his wife or child, it was simply considered a domestic affair and men were never prosecuted.   I'm not sure what took so long for it to finally reach the upper house, and the law still has to be enacted by  President Asif Ali Zardari, but it's very promising.

The U.S. would do well to follow suit and enact tougher DV laws, since we have as great a problem with domestic violence but don't have religion or culture to blame.

Bangladeshi Man Chops Off Wife's Fingers For Pursuing A College Education

An educated Muslim woman is often a threat to an ignorant, uneducated religious male in certain Muslim-majority countries. They prefer their women folk to remain at home, barefoot and pregnant. An education is a threat to their dominance, that's why they burn down schools in Pakistan and throw acid in young girl's faces in Afghanistan, hoping to keep them so fearful they abandon their educational goals. 

In fact, maiming females is an all too common practice as a retaliatory act for anything from being spurned, to being shamed, to jealousy. Acid is most common, but women have also had body parts cut off as punishment.  Remember the young Afghan woman, Bibi Aisha, who made it to the front page of Time Magazine after her nose and ears were cut off? She had been left to die after shaming her in-laws by running away from her abusive Taliban husband, but miraculously survived.

In the recent case of a 21-year-old Bangladeshi woman, Hawa Akhter Sui, jealousy played a factor in her mutilation. Her husband,  Rafiqul Islam, is the perfect example of the ignorant Muslim chauvinist male. Rafiq works in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as a migrant worker. Married in 2008- while Rafiq worked in Dubai, Sui stayed with her parents in Bangladesh and, in spite of his objections, continued her studies.  He had threatened her with "severe consequences", but little did she know how severe.

Sui, a second-year college student, said that Rafiq had called her and said that he had some presents for her, and that she should fetch them from his sister and brother-in-law's house. She arrived on December 1 at her sister-in-law's house, Naima Begum, and waited.  3 days later, Islam showed up at the house and told her he had a surprise.  This is what happened:

It was around 8:00am.



Jui's husband Rafiq took her into a room and locked her in.


“He told me that he would like to give me a surprise, and covered my eyes with my scarf. I could sense that he was angry with me, but I dared not protest,” Jui said.


“Then, he asked me why I continued my studies despite his objections.”


“I told him that I would sit for the HSC examination, and then quit studies. But he taped my mouth shut, and asked me to put my right hand on a table.”


“Suddenly, Rafiq said he would put an end to my studies, and then hacked off my hand.”

As Jui started groaning in pain, Rafiq's sister and brother-in-law broke into the room.

Then Sui sat there bleeding for 3 hours:

"Instead of taking me to a hospital, my husband Rafiqul Islam and his sister Naima Begum remained busy mopping up the blood on the floor and the bed. Later, Rafiq went out of the house to dump the detached hand into a dustbin"


“On my repeated requests, they took me to the hospital by an auto-rickshaw at about 11:00am, nearly three hours after the incident. On the way to hospital, they threatened to throw me out of the vehicle, if I told the story to anyone."

Had they taken her to the hospital sooner, there might have been a chance to re-attach the fingers. After initially lying to medical personnel at the 2nd hopsital Sui was taken to, Rafiq finally admitted he had thrown the fingers in a dustbin, but by the time they found 4 of them, it was too late. One still remains missing.

Some of the actual details are a tad sketchy-  how much did the sister and brother-in-law know? How much of the hand was chopped off?  But what we do know is that this controlling animal subjected his wife to agonizing pain and disfigurement for life, because he was jealous of her educating herself.

Sui will continue her studies, once she heals and learns to use her left hand. She wants to become a lawyer.  Rafiq, on the other hand is bucking for life in prison, if Human rights organizations get their wish.

Sources: The DailyStar, The Daily Mail UK, The Daily Star