KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – A young woman has been fatally stabbed by her husband in Daykundi province, central Afghanistan, amid a rise in domestic violence cases across the country.
Local sources identified the victim as Gulshan, 27, a mother of two children, who was killed on Wednesday, October 2. The incident had not been reported earlier due to Taliban threats, as the regime aims to prevent such cases from becoming public.
According to sources, the local Taliban authorities have detained the woman’s husband and father-in-law in connection with the incident.
While the exact motivations behind the incident remain unclear, sources have linked it to domestic violence.
Domestic violence has long claimed the lives of women and girls in Afghanistan, with a significant increase over the past three years under Taliban rule.
Three days ago, in a similar incident, a 55-year-old man killed his 15-year-old wife, Samia, in southern Kandahar province. She was reportedly his third wife.
In a 2019 report, the UN mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) revealed that of the 237 documented cases of violence against women in the country, 80% were committed by male relatives, with spouses being the primary perpetrators.
Cases of family violence are often underreported, as those involved prioritize protecting family honor in Afghanistan’s traditional society.
The situation has significantly worsened since the Taliban’s return to power, as the regime has systematically excluded women, stripping them of their fundamental rights and freedoms through extreme misogynistic policies.
Additionally, the Taliban has systematically dismantled the legal and institutional frameworks that once protected women, leaving them trapped in a cycle of violence with no access to justice.
