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Afghan 'suicide vest girl' reveals family ordeal | Afghan 'suicide vest girl' reveals family ordeal |
(about 2 hours later) | |
An Afghan girl has told the BBC that her family forced her to attack a police checkpoint in Helmand province. | An Afghan girl has told the BBC that her family forced her to attack a police checkpoint in Helmand province. |
The girl, known as Spozhmai, said her brother and father had beaten her, ordering her to put on a suicide vest. | The girl, known as Spozhmai, said her brother and father had beaten her, ordering her to put on a suicide vest. |
She was taken into protective custody in the provincial capital Lashkar Gah, after an Afghan soldier spotted her wearing the vest last Monday. | She was taken into protective custody in the provincial capital Lashkar Gah, after an Afghan soldier spotted her wearing the vest last Monday. |
Spozhmai, said to be about 10, has appealed to Afghan President Hamid Karzai to put her in a new home. | Spozhmai, said to be about 10, has appealed to Afghan President Hamid Karzai to put her in a new home. |
A presidential spokeswoman said she would only be returned to relatives if tribal elders guaranteed her safety. | A presidential spokeswoman said she would only be returned to relatives if tribal elders guaranteed her safety. |
The girl is thought to be the sister of a prominent Taliban commander, who police say encouraged her to carry out the attack. | The girl is thought to be the sister of a prominent Taliban commander, who police say encouraged her to carry out the attack. |
'Treated like a slave' | 'Treated like a slave' |
Spozhmai told the BBC's Newsday programme that she had been scared to carry out the attack, but that her brother had promised only her targets would die. | |
She added that her father had ordered her to return home, but she refused to obey. | She added that her father had ordered her to return home, but she refused to obey. |
"I said: 'No, I will kill myself rather than go with you'," she said. | "I said: 'No, I will kill myself rather than go with you'," she said. |
"The same thing will happen again. They have told me before: 'If you don't do it this time, we will make you do it again.'" | "The same thing will happen again. They have told me before: 'If you don't do it this time, we will make you do it again.'" |
The girl said she had not been allowed to learn to read and write. | The girl said she had not been allowed to learn to read and write. |
"I did all the things at home, I cooked, I cleaned the whole house, and they would treat me badly as if I was a slave," Spozhmai said. | "I did all the things at home, I cooked, I cleaned the whole house, and they would treat me badly as if I was a slave," Spozhmai said. |
In her appeal to Mr Karzai last week, the child said: "I won't go back there. God didn't make me to become a suicide bomber. I ask the president to put me in a good place." | In her appeal to Mr Karzai last week, the child said: "I won't go back there. God didn't make me to become a suicide bomber. I ask the president to put me in a good place." |
The president has condemned the Taliban over the incident, but the group has denied any involvement in the alleged plot. | The president has condemned the Taliban over the incident, but the group has denied any involvement in the alleged plot. |