A 16-year-old Afghan girl has been flogged for allegedly having an affair
and her purported boyfriend fined $1500 in a rural district under government
control, local officials said Saturday.
The girl, who has been
named only as Sabera, is in poor health since
the incident on September 9 in
Jaguri district of Ghazni province, said the head of the provincial women's
affairs department, Shukuria Wali. The Taliban have strongholds in Ghazni, but
Jaguri is under government control and is dominated by ethnic Hazaras, who are
generally considered moderate by Afghan standards and do not have strict tribal
codes observed by Pashtuns, who dominate the ranks of the Islamist militia.
"According to the information we have, Sabera was first
wrapped in a white cloth and then flogged in front of village elders and family
members. I have heard she is not in good health," said Ms Wali. The man
who allegedly had the affair with Sabera was fined 80,000 Afghanis ($1500), she
said.
Jaghuri governor Zafar Sharif confirmed the incident and said a
government and rights delegation had been sent to investigate. Afghanistan is
an extremely conservative Muslim country, where unmarried girls are often
confined to the home and forbidden from maintaining any contact with men
outside the immediate family.
Public executions and flogging of alleged adulterers were common
under the 1996-2001 Taliban regime. Although significant progress has been made
on women's rights since a US-led invasion brought down the Taliban, many fear
those gains are under threat as NATO troops leave and Kabul seeks peace with
Islamist insurgents.
In July, a 22-year-old woman was shot dead for alleged adultery
as dozens of men cheered in a village in Parwan province, north of Kabul. The
incident was captured in a horrific video which drew international outrage. The
Taliban denied any involvement.
Afghan President Hamid
Karzai condemned the execution as un-Islamic and unforgivable.