KABUL – A young widow was shot dead by her brother in northern Faryab province after resisting a forced marriage, local sources said.
The incident took place on Saturday night, September 13, in Khwaja Sabz Posh district. According to witnesses, the victim’s family wanted to remarry her against her will, but she refused. Her brother then opened fire in front of other family members, killing her instantly.
Sources added that the woman’s first husband had died and she was raising a young son.
Taliban authorities in Faryab have not commented on the killing.
The case follows two other recent femicides in Faryab. Last week, women were killed in Dawlatabad and Shirin Tagab districts. One was murdered by her husband, who then fled with his sister-in-law, according to locals.
Women’s rights advocates say these cases highlight a worsening crisis for Afghan women under Taliban rule. In recent years, hundreds of women and girls have taken their own lives—through poisoning, hanging, or gunshot—to escape forced marriages, domestic violence, and sexual abuse.
Forced and early marriages are on the rise, driven by economic hardship, social pressures, and the Taliban’s sweeping restrictions. In some communities, families arrange early marriages to prevent their daughters from being forced to wed Taliban fighters.
Gender-based violence (GBV) has sharply increased nationwide. A report by Afghan Witness documented more than 700 GBV cases between January 2022 and June 2024, affecting 840 women and girls. At least 322 were femicides, while 287 involved arrests, detentions, or enforced disappearances. The report also recorded 75 cases of sexual assault or rape.
International experts and human rights groups have condemned Taliban policies, saying that the escalating violence and repression against women and girls amounts to gender apartheid.
