Hundreds of students joined demonstrations against the public caning of a 16-year-old girl in Ghazni for speaking to a boy.
Local mullahs in Jaghori district, Ghazni province,
Local mullahs in Jaghori district, Ghazni province, ordered the girl, identified as Sabera, to be lashed 100 times and the boy fined 80,000 Afs (1,550 USD). The incident, which took place on Sep 8, has sparked a public outcry.
While students from Kabul University joined women and civil rights activists to demonstrate on the streets in the Afghan capital, the incident has been condemned strongly by human rights organisations and the Afghan parliament. The emergence of mock courts, called ‘desert’ courts, that deliver Taleban-era justice – public punishments that include caning and beheading – has become a matter of serious concern.
Nooria, who was among the protestors, called the desert courts “illegal and anti-Islam”. Willing to speak on record to Killid, the young woman said, “There are warlords and mafia who control the courts. They (in Ghazni) did not convene the court according to religious practice. They did not have enough witnesses against the girl. They ignored the boy’s responsibility by taking 80,000 Afs. We want the government to ensure justice and security.”
Another protestor who did not want to be identified was indignant that the girl was punished for merely talking to a boy. “This is the work of sheikhs that have been taught in Iran. I see the hand of Iran very clearly in this.”
Sadaf Fetrat from Kabul University blames the government for the return of desert courts. Everywhere the government’s writ has vanished, like in areas under Taleban control, people are resolving their legal problems through mobile courts run by the Taleban. “The government can prevent the repetition of such bestiality (the Ghazni incident) by punishing the guilty,” says Sadaf Fetrat. “The people should make the government take action by raising their voices,” she adds.
Justice for women
The Kabul demonstrators who numbered more than 200 shouted slogans. “We want justice. The violence against women is enough.” The protestors who started from Kabul University gathered in front of the office of the AIHRC (Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission) and Afghan Parliament. At the gates of Parliament the demonstrators issued a six-point declaration, which also included a call for the dismissal of the Jaghori district governor, Zafar Sharif who is accused of supporting the decision to cane the teenager.
Some members of parliament have come out in support of the campaign for justice for Sabera in Ghazni.
Shah Gul Razayee, the representative from Ghazni in Parliament, promised the protestors that “Parliament will comply with whatever is the wish and request of Afghan people and civil society.”
Chaman Shah, another elected member of parliament from Ghazni, described the sentencing by the mobile court as “against the law”. He said Parliament as a law-making institution will stand together with the people. He said two parliamentary commissions on women’s affairs have been told to follow up the case.
There have been reports of a number of cases of Taleban-type “justice” in areas they control since early 2011. In July this year, Taleban in Shinwari district, Parwan province, publicly executed a young woman called Najiba. There were spontaneous protests in many parts of the country against her killing. A month later, Taleban stoned to death a couple in Imam Sahib district, Kunduz. The couple, who were betrothed, was arrested in the village for having “illegal” relations.
Mawlawi Ahmad, a religious scientist in Herat, says mock courts like these are “totally against Islam and humanity”. He explains, “Islam insists strongly on the availability of the witness and a just trial under the law.”
