PAN, January 23, 2010

Father kills daughter in Sar-i-Pul province of Afghanistan

Gul Muhammad forced his daughter to marry teenager Faiz Muhammad, but the young woman rejected the demand

Hamid

SHEBARGHAN: A father killed his 19-year-old daughter who refused to marry a 12-year-old boy in northern Sar-i-Pul province, the deputy governor said on Saturday.

Qamaruddin Shakeeb told Pajhwok Afghan News Maliha, a resident of the Balghali village on the outskirts of the provincial capital, was killed by her father Gul Muhammad.

He added Gul Muhammad forced his daughter to marry teenager Faiz Muhammad, but the young woman rejected the demand. Subsequently, she sought refuge in a neighbour's house.

Maliha reportedly planned to tie the knot with her neighbour Hayatullah, who took here back to her house. Muhammad beat her to death after the men left.

"Three days back, parents of the victim told us to hand Maliha over to police, but later they wanted Maliha to return home. Policemen then exhumed her body from a graveyard and took it for an autopsy," Shakeeb added.

Police detained the killer. But police chief, Brig. Gen. Muhammad Bilal Niram, said they released him on bail. At the moment, he argued, it was unclear who killed the woman.

Aziza Jalis, head of women affairs department, strongly condemned the incident. She blamed security forces for downplaying such cases. "The only crime Maliha committed was to marry according to her own wish."

She promised they would try to bring Maliha's father to justice with the help of Women Affairs Ministry. She said six similar cases were registered in the current solar year.

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