A woman in northern Balkh Province was beaten and stabbed 15 times by her husband for opposing her daughter’s forced marriage.
The attack took place on Sunday, August 28, after the woman opposed the forced marriage of her 17-year-old daughter to one of her husband’s relatives who is also a member of the Taliban, explained one of the woman’s relatives, who spoke to Zan Times on the condition of anonymity.
“Yesterday, at 3 p.m. when no one was at home, Mohammad Dawood attacked his wife and stabbed her with a knife about 15 times because of her opposition to marry her daughter against her will,” the source said. He added that the wounds were inflicted all over her body, including her head, neck, hands and back.
A source at Abu Ali Sina hospital in Mazar-e-Sharif confirms that the mother was brought to the hospital in critical condition.
Even though the woman had serious injuries, her life is out of danger, the source adds.
Asif Waziri, the spokesman of the Taliban police in Balkh confirmed the incident and announced the arrest of Mohammad Dawood, the woman’s husband. According to Waziri, this incident happened as a result of a family dispute, and they will investigate the matter.
Photos of the woman that were shared with Zan Times show deep injuries on her body.
In July, Amnesty International released a report that documented some of the Taliban’s “suffocating” actions against women, including closure of shelters for survivors of gender-based violence. “Since they took control of the country in August 2021, the Taliban have violated women’s and girls’ rights to education, work, and free movement; decimated the system of protection and support for those fleeing domestic violence; detained women and girls for minor violations of discriminatory rules; and contributed to a surge in the rates of child, early and forced marriage in Afghanistan,” the report states.
Even before the Taliban came to power, UN data said that nine out of 10 women in Afghanistan experience some form of domestic abuse.
