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| Afghan man slit throat of teenager he had wanted to marry, say police | Afghan man slit throat of teenager he had wanted to marry, say police |
| (30 days later) | |
| An Afghan man has slit the throat of a teenage relative because her family turned down his marriage proposal, police say, as activists report a sharp increase in attacks on women in Afghanistan. | An Afghan man has slit the throat of a teenage relative because her family turned down his marriage proposal, police say, as activists report a sharp increase in attacks on women in Afghanistan. |
| President Hamid Karzai marked the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on Thursday with a speech calling on clerics and community leaders to help stamp out what he described as a "social menace". | President Hamid Karzai marked the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on Thursday with a speech calling on clerics and community leaders to help stamp out what he described as a "social menace". |
| "It destroys love, passion and respect," Karzai said in his radio broadcast to the nation. "Children who grow up in families that experience violence may be more depressed and violent." | "It destroys love, passion and respect," Karzai said in his radio broadcast to the nation. "Children who grow up in families that experience violence may be more depressed and violent." |
| The teenager who was killed, Nishina, 15, was attacked in Kunduz province on Tuesday morning as she was fetching water from a well near her home. She was set on by a cousin and nephew who slit her throat, said Sayed Sawar Hosseini, spokesman for the provincial police chief. | The teenager who was killed, Nishina, 15, was attacked in Kunduz province on Tuesday morning as she was fetching water from a well near her home. She was set on by a cousin and nephew who slit her throat, said Sayed Sawar Hosseini, spokesman for the provincial police chief. |
| "A guy by the name of Mohammad Sadeq, he is her cousin, he had proposed to her on his brother's behalf, but Nishina and her family refused the proposal," Hosseini said by phone. | "A guy by the name of Mohammad Sadeq, he is her cousin, he had proposed to her on his brother's behalf, but Nishina and her family refused the proposal," Hosseini said by phone. |
| "He came back two days ago and attacked her. Through the co-operation of the family in the area we have finally arrested both of them." The family wanted to see the men hanged, he added. | "He came back two days ago and attacked her. Through the co-operation of the family in the area we have finally arrested both of them." The family wanted to see the men hanged, he added. |
| The killing of Nishina comes almost a year after four men in Kunduz disfigured a teenager and her two sisters with acid, also for turning down a marriage request. There has been an unusually high number of women attacked and murdered in the province since then, including one husband who killed his wife because he was angry that all their children were girls. | The killing of Nishina comes almost a year after four men in Kunduz disfigured a teenager and her two sisters with acid, also for turning down a marriage request. There has been an unusually high number of women attacked and murdered in the province since then, including one husband who killed his wife because he was angry that all their children were girls. |
| "We are very concerned about violence against women in Kunduz," said Nadira Giyah, head of the department of women's affairs in the province for the last four years. "It has really increased very suddenly over the last nine or 10 months." | "We are very concerned about violence against women in Kunduz," said Nadira Giyah, head of the department of women's affairs in the province for the last four years. "It has really increased very suddenly over the last nine or 10 months." |
| Three years ago, Giyah's office dealt with dozens of cases of suicide but just a couple of murders, she said. But this year they have handled 11 killings, and other parts of the country are seeing similar trends. | Three years ago, Giyah's office dealt with dozens of cases of suicide but just a couple of murders, she said. But this year they have handled 11 killings, and other parts of the country are seeing similar trends. |
| "The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission has recorded an alarming increase in the number of cases of violence against women this year and the murder in Kunduz seems to fit a pattern that has become all too familiar, where men feel free to murder a woman who has angered them," said Heather Barr, Afghanistan researcher at Human Rights Watch. | "The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission has recorded an alarming increase in the number of cases of violence against women this year and the murder in Kunduz seems to fit a pattern that has become all too familiar, where men feel free to murder a woman who has angered them," said Heather Barr, Afghanistan researcher at Human Rights Watch. |
| "The government's failure to effectively enforce the 2009 law on elimination of violence against women encourages men to believe that they can kill and attack women with impunity." | "The government's failure to effectively enforce the 2009 law on elimination of violence against women encourages men to believe that they can kill and attack women with impunity." |
| Activists also said they were concerned about a recent demand by the country's conservative council of clerics, who last year described women as "secondary" to men, to be given the power to issue legally binding religious decrees. | Activists also said they were concerned about a recent demand by the country's conservative council of clerics, who last year described women as "secondary" to men, to be given the power to issue legally binding religious decrees. |
| The influential group made the request to Karzai during a regular meeting at the presidential palace, Afghanistan's Tolo television station reported. | The influential group made the request to Karzai during a regular meeting at the presidential palace, Afghanistan's Tolo television station reported. |
| Campaigner Wazhma Frogh said: "I'm not very worried that it will get implemented. They have a meeting with President Karzai every week, and he does listen to them, but not much gets implemented. | Campaigner Wazhma Frogh said: "I'm not very worried that it will get implemented. They have a meeting with President Karzai every week, and he does listen to them, but not much gets implemented. |
| "But what is worrying for me is the mentality for this country. We do risk going backwards. One day we hear that women can't travel alone, another that you are a lesser human being, then this about sharia law. But how is that possible in a country where you have a constitution, supreme court, and judiciary?" | "But what is worrying for me is the mentality for this country. We do risk going backwards. One day we hear that women can't travel alone, another that you are a lesser human being, then this about sharia law. But how is that possible in a country where you have a constitution, supreme court, and judiciary?" |
| • Additional reporting by Mokhtar Amiri | • Additional reporting by Mokhtar Amiri |
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