Afghanistan: Pregnant Woman Whipped, Murdered by Taliban

Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.)
http://www.realcourage.org/2010/08/bibi-sanubar/

In Afghanistan, a pregnant Afghan widow, Bibi Sanubar, was publicly
flogged with 200 lashes and then shot three times in the head for
"alleged adultery" by the religious supremacist Taliban organization.
Taliban supremacist leader Mullah Daoud reportedly claimed
responsibility for the murder of the pregnant woman in a Taliban "court"
along with two other Taliban chiefs. Another report states that a
local Taliban leader, Mohammad Yousuf, carried out the execution.

Afghanistan Taliban "Police" Beat Women in Public - in Kabul - in 2001 - Will Afghanistan Return to This?

Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) supports our universal human rights
for all people, men and women, and reject any ideological misogyny that
seeks to oppress, victimize, mutilate, and murder women, wherever it
may be, and whatever justification it uses for such hate against women.
R.E.A.L. reject religious supremacist rationalization for denying the human rights of women or of any other human being. We urge those whose hearts are burdened with hate to Choose Love, Not Hate - Love Wins.

Afghanistan: Taliban Held Public Executions While in Power (File Photo: Dawn)

R.E.A.L. publicly and continually expresses concern over abuses in Afghanistan and by the Taliban against women and women's rights. R.E.A.L. remains concerned that the Afghanistan constitution continues to be manipulated by those who seek to deny human rights. R.E.A.L. remains concerned that the Taliban is an ideological supremacist force against women's rights and human rights, regardless of those who believe that Taliban members can be readily integrated or reconciled within the political and social power structure of Afghanistan. R.E.A.L. believes that an effective policy against terrorism begins with human rights.

R.E.A.L.'
s Jeffrey Imm Outside White House in Washington DC Protesting Calls for
Taliban Reconciliation, Concern for Impact on Women's Rights

According to the UK Mirror:
"Insurgent commander Mullah Daoud said the woman was whipped, then shot
in front of locals after he and two other Taliban chiefs passed
sentence. Daoud said: 'We gave this decision so in future no one should
have these illegal affairs. We whipped her in front of all the local
people, to show them an example. Then we shot her.'"

AFP reports:
"The Taliban publicly flogged and then executed a pregnant Afghan widow
by emptying three shots into her head for alleged adultery, police said
on Monday. Bibi Sanubar, 35, was kept in captivity for three days
before she was shot dead in a public trial on Sunday by a local Taliban
commander in the Qadis district of the rural western province Badghis.
The Taliban accused Sanubar of having an 'illicit affair' that left her
pregnant. She was first punished with 200 lashes in public before being
shot, deputy provincial police chief Ghulam Mohammad Sayeedi said. ''She
was shot in the head in public while she was still pregnant,' Sayeedi
said."

Pakistan Dawn reports that
"Local Taliban commander Mohammad Yousuf carried out the execution,
Sayeedi said, before the woman's body was dumped in an area under
government control... Head of Badghis provincial council Mohammad Nasir
Nazaari confirmed the execution and said the Qadis district is entirely
under Taliban control."

"The deputy head of the religious council for western Afghanistan,
Mohammad Kabaabiani, said the execution ran counter to Islamic
principles. Head of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission in
western Afghanistan, Abdul Qadir Rahimi, condemned the killing. 'Any
such trial is unacceptable and is a violation of human rights. All
trials must take place in an authorized court observing every single
measure of justice,' said Rahimi."

Ms. Magazine states that:
"The execution of Bibi Sanubar is one of many recent murders attributed
to Taliban. Other recent incidents include a woman who worked at a
non-profit who was murdered while leaving work in April, a couple who
were shot outside of a mosque last year after being accused of eloping,
and a Kandahar provincial council member and women's rights activist who
was murdered outside of her home last year. During the Taliban's rule
from 1996 to 2001, public executions and amputations were commonplace."

The Voice of America reports
that "Authorities say Taliban militants kept the woman in captivity for
three days before her execution Sunday in a remote area of northwestern
Badghis province. They say she was first flogged 200 times and then
shot in the head three times. Officials say a Taliban court had found
the woman guilty of having an 'illicit affair' that left her pregnant.
Afghan police say a local Taliban commander, Mohammad Yousuf, carried
out the execution, but a Taliban spokesman Monday denied that the group
was responsible."

The Daily Mail reports
that "'Justice', Afghan style, is still relatively harsh. Rape victims,
for example, are prosecuted for having sex outside of wedlock. Under
Afghan law Sanubar would have been jailed for up to three years if found
guilty of adultery, but many women are then returned to their families
to face traditional punishments, including so-called honour killings."