A twenty-year-old Afghan woman, Mah Gul, was beheaded by her
mother-in-law for refusing to engage in prostitution, according to Afghan
police. The mother-in-law and her cousin approached Mah Gul shortly after her
husband left for work, and when she refused they killed her.
In a country where women’s rights have long been denied,
Gul’s story is just another sad story to the women and girls who face similar
violence every day. It’s not uncommon for them to be forced into marriage,
prostitution, sold to settle family debts or as sex slaves, raped, and killed.
Until 2001, Taliban rule prevented women from educating themselves formally,
being involved in politics, or even getting a job.
They also couldn’t leave home without a male escort and the
traditional burqa. Disobeying these public laws resulted in public beatings.
And despite the Taliban’s formal loss of political control, many still treat
women the same. Families sometimes abuse and even kill girls for disobeying or
disappointing them.
This story hearkens back to last year’s story of Sahar Gul,
a thirteen-year-old who was forced into marriage, raped, and because she didn’t
conceive immediately, locked in a basement for several months of torture. And
when she ran away, she had both ears and her nose cut off by the Taliban. She
eventually found some asylum in the United States, but it’s unlikely the
emotional scarring will haunt her forever.
In Mah Gul’s case, she will never have the chance to escape.
Her both her mother-in-law and the mother-in-law’s cousin have admitted to the
slaying. Her husband and father-in-law have been investigated as well, but
police say they had no involvement in the murder.
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