KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Local Taliban authorities in Nangarhar province, eastern Afghanistan, report a tragic incident in which a woman was killed by her husband and her body was burned by her mother-in-law.
Tayeb Hamad, spokesperson for the Taliban security command in Nangarhar, told reporters that the “brutal murder” occurred in Jalalabad, the capital city, on Sunday, December 8.
The Taliban security official explained the woman was first killed by her husband at their home, and later her body was burned by her mother-in-law.
The motive behind the incident remains unknown. However, the Taliban said that both the husband and mother-in-law have been detained for questioning.
Even before the Taliban takeover, Afghanistan had one of the highest rates of violence against women, with nine out of 10 women experiencing at least one form of intimate partner violence in their lifetime.
In a 2018 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.
Following the Taliban takeover, cases of domestic violence significantly increased due to restrictions on women and girls’ rights and freedoms, particularly their ability to work and freedom of movement.
Furthermore, the Taliban closed all women’s protection centers in Afghanistan, which had been established by the previous government to offer refuge to female survivors of domestic violence. The regime has also dismantled the legal and institutional frameworks that once protected women and girls, leaving them trapped in a cycle of violence with no access to justice.
Since the Taliban takeover, suicide cases among women and girls in Afghanistan have also significantly increased, with most cases attributed to domestic violence and the Taliban restrictions.
According to a recent report by Etilaat Roz, over the past three years of Taliban rule, more than 200 women and girls have committed suicide across Afghanistan. The report states that during the year 1402 (May 2023 – May 2024), at least 103 women and girls, the majority of whom were under the age of 20, took their own lives in the country.
The actual numbers may be even higher, as many incidents go unreported due to Taliban media restrictions and the stigma surrounding mental health in Afghan society.
