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Afghan protesters demand justice for woman killed by mob Afghan protesters march to demand justice for woman killed by mob
(about 5 hours later)
Hundreds of Afghans have protested in Kabul to demand justice for a woman who was killed by a mob outside one of the capital’s most famous mosques. Hundreds of people have marched in Kabul, demanding justice for a woman beaten to death last week in the Afghan capital by a mob over false allegations she had burned a Qur’an.
The woman, a 27-year-old religious scholar named Farkhunda, was beaten, pushed from a roof, run over by a car and set alight before her body was thrown in the Kabul river last Thursday. She was buried amid a huge public outcry on Sunday. The killing shocked many Afghans and renewed calls for authorities to ensure women’s rights to equality and protection from violence.
Protesters who gathered on Monday by the Shah Doshamshera mosque demanded that the government prosecute all those responsible for Farkhunda’s death. Like many Afghans, she was known by only one name. It also drew condemnation from Afghan president Ashraf Ghani – in Washington on his first state visit to the US since taking office in September – who denounced it as a “heinous attack” and ordered an investigation.
Palwasha, who described herself as a social activist, said: “We demand that the government ensure that all those involved are arrested and that they face an open trial so that justice is implemented and they become an example for others.” On Thursday, a mob of men beat a 27-year-old religious scholar named Farkhunda to death, threw her body off a roof, ran over it with a car, set it on fire and threw it into the Kabul river nearby.
The demonstrators blocked the road outside the mosque and marched along the riverside route from where the attack began to the point where Farkhunda’s body was set alight. The attack was captured on mobile phone cameras and the footage has been widely distributed on social media.
Many of the women in the crowd wore masks of Farkhunda’s battered and bloodied face, which has appeared widely on social media. They carried a banner accusing the government of broken promises on ending corruption and bringing rule of law to Afghanistan. Farkhunda, who like many Afghans had just one name, was buried amid a huge public outcry on Sunday, her coffin carried by women’s activists who defied the tradition of men-only pallbearers and funerals.
The Afghan interior minister, Noorulhaq Ulumi, told parliament on Monday that Farkhunda had been falsely accused of burning the Qur’an. “The accusation against her is completely invalid. Farkhunda was a religious girl, she was not involved, she was innocent. Protesters who gathered near the Shah Doshamshera mosque on Monday demanded the government prosecute all those responsible for the death.
“It is very painful that we were not able to protect a pious young person. We hope this will not be repeated again.” Kabul’s police chief Abdul Rahman Rahimi said 18 people had been arrested and all had confessed to their role in Farkhunda’s death.
Police say they have arrested 13 people in relation to her death, and suspended 13 policemen amid allegations they stood by and did nothing to stop the attack. “We have enough evidence” against the suspects, he announced at a press conference as the 18 were brought out before the media. He said 13 police officers based in the area of the mosque had been suspended amid allegations they stood by and did nothing to stop the attack, and another four were under investigation.
One of the police officers who witnessed the attack, Sayed Habid Shah, said they were overwhelmed by the size of the crowd, which grew throughout the assault.
It all started when Farkhunda and a fortune teller at a small shrine next to the mosque began arguing and the fortune teller accused her of burning the Qur’an, Shah said.
“She said, ‘I am a Muslim and Muslims do not burn the Qur’an,’” Shah, who has not been suspended, said. “As more people gathered, the police were trying to push them away, but it got out of control.”
“The people pulled her into a corner of the yard and beat her with sticks, and one man took a large stone and dropped it on her. That was the end,” Shah said.
Farkhunda’s body was then dragged 300m (980ft) along the road in front of the mosque and thrown into the river, he added.
Social activists on Monday planted a pine tree on the riverbank spot where Farkhunda’s body was set alight. The demonstrators, many of them members of the Solidarity party of Afghanistan, blocked the road outside the mosque and marched along the riverside route, starting from where the attack began.
Many women in the crowd wore masks of Farkhunda’s battered and bloodied face, which has appeared widely on social media. They carried a banner accusing the government of breaking promises to end corruption and bring rule of law to Afghanistan.
“We demand that the government ensure that all those involved are arrested and that they face an open trial so that justice is implemented and they become an example for others,” said Palwasha, who described herself as a social activist.
Activist and film director Sahraa Karimi said she was disappointed that unlike Ghani, the president’s wife, Rula, has not yet spoken about the killing.
“This is typical of the women in positions of influence in Afghanistan,” Karimi said. “How can they be our representatives?”
Activists have promised daily protests throughout the week to maintain pressure on the authorities to act to curb violence against women.
“That people are comfortable being filmed while committing a murder like this in daylight is a symptom of the culture of impunity,” said activist Ramin Anwari, citing mobile phone footage of the attack on Farkhunda.
Also on Monday, five teenage boys were killed and another six injured when explosives attached to a bicycle were detonated during a football match in southern Ghazni province, according to the deputy governor, Mohammad Ali Ahmadi.