According to reports by Afghan media, ordered by a local warlord called Fazl Ahad, two Afghan women were publicly flogged in Ghor province in Western Afghanistan.
Spokesman of Ghor’s Governor, Abdul Hai Khatibi said these women were forcibly married in Dolina district, but later they both ran away from their husbands' houses. Police in Heart arrested the two in Chasht district while wearing men's dresses. The women were then returned to their village and handed over to their husbands.
In light of a decree issued by local clerics, Khatibi said, the two women were subjected to 45 lashes each in public and they were flogged in presence of a large number of people. The footage of the scene was aired by some local Afghan TV channels.
The Dolina district is a haven of illegal armed groups, who impose such brutal and unethical verdicts on people, he added.
Two Afghan women were publicly flogged in Ghor province in Western Afghanistan. (Photo from TOLO TV)
Deputy Dolina police chief Jahan Shah said to Pajhowk Afghan News that the two women were punished by a former jihadi commander named Fazl Ahad. He alleged the commander asked the husbands to give divorce to their wives.
Jahan Shah said the women fled their houses due to violence and beating.
Another police officer, who did not want to be named, said Fazl Ahad was involved in many such incidents. Tolo TV reported on Feb.18 that this warlord also flogged a man for having argument with a Mullah and imprisoned him in his private jail.
The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) condemned the flogging of women.