A young woman accused of adultery was killed in front of a cheering crowd near the Afghan capitol city of Kabul. Human rights activists and Western officials were horrified when images of the young woman’s death surfaced.
The murder is the latest in a series of gruesome attacks on Afghan women in recent months.
NATO’s International Security Assistance Force criticized the killing. The Parwan provincial governor, Basir Salangi, expressed disgust, and authorities vowed to pursue those involved in the killing.
Women’s rights activists and women’s groups said the killing was part of a pattern of systematic abuse. In the last three months, fifty-eight murders of women were documented across the country. In Afghanistan, "honor" killings occur when a woman is thought to have disgraced her family. This may occur even if the woman is a victim of rape.