Rights campaigners seek public trial of Arifa’s husband

KABUL Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) on Wednesday called for severe punishment to a man who cut off his wife’s fingers and lips and killed his daughter in western Herat province.

Marya Bashir, the attorney, on Monday told a news conference the accused had been arrested. His wife Arifa had her fingers, lips and flesh from other body parts chopped off with scissors and pliers.

The Afghan Women’s Union head, Suraya Parlika, condemning the torture of the 25-year-old as barbarism, asked the government to make an example of the man.

Rights activist Shahla Maihan Dost urged the women affairs ministry to seriously follow cases of violence against women and bring culprits to justice. She called upon the women to join hands for winning their rights.

A senior official at Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Fawzia Amini, called the incident in Herat a rare one. Preliminary investigations showed the accused was a drug-addict, she said.

Meanwhile, the AIHRC called for a public trial of Arifa’s husband. Women’s Rights Coordinator at AIHRC Latifa Sultani said: “An open trial of culprits in such cases would be a lesson for others.”

She added most of cases of violence against women this year took place in Kandahar, Paktia, Takhar, Baghlan and Sar-i-Pul provinces. The cases included sexual abuse, forced marriage and physical abuse.

mm/ma/mud 

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