- 30-second video shows woman being pelted with stones by group of men
- Punished for eloping with a man after family arranged a different marriage
- Victim is thought to be aged between 19 and 21 and called Rokhsahana
- Incident took place about a week ago in Taliban-controlled area Firozkoh
A young woman has been stoned to death in a Taliban-controlled area of Afghanistan after eloping with a man.
A 30-second video shows the woman, known only as Rokhsahana and believed to be aged between 19 and 21, lying in a hole in the ground as a group of around 15 men hurl stones at her.
Her voice can be heard growing increasingly high-pitched as the rocks strike her body with sickening thuds.
The killing, which took place on October 25 just outside Firozkoh, was confirmed by officials earlier today.
Governor Seema Joyenda said: ‘The footage shown in the media is related to Rokhsahana, who was stoned to death.’
Joyenda, one of only two female governors in Afghanistan, said Rokhsahana’s family had married her off against her will before she was caught while eloping with another man her age.
The man was let off with a lashing, Joyenda’s spokesman said.
The brutal punishment highlights the endemic violence against women in Afghan society, despite reforms since the Taliban regime fell in 2001.
In March a woman named Farkhunda was savagely beaten and set ablaze in central Kabul after being falsely accused of burning a Koran.
The mob killing triggered protests around the country and drew global attention to the treatment of Afghan women.
Joyenda condemned the stoning in Ghor, calling on Kabul to launch a military operation to rid the area of insurgents and other armed groups.
She said: ‘This is the first incident in this area [this year] but will not be the last.
‘Women in general have problems all over the country but in Ghor even more conservative attitudes prevail.’
In September a video from the region appeared to show a woman receiving lashes from a turbaned elder in front of a crowd of male spectators.
The flogging came after a local court found her guilty of having sex outside marriage with a man, who was similarly punished.
Shariah law decrees stoning as the punishment for men and women convicted of having sex outside marriage but the penalty is very rarely applied in Muslim countries.
Public lashings and executions were common under the Taliban’s five-year rule, when a strict interpretation of Sharia law was enforced.
The Taliban have so far not commented on the stoning in Ghor.
Horrifying video shows young woman being stoned to death for alleged adultery in Taliban-controlled area of Afghanistan
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