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Art Mann
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Newlywed Afghan beheaded for her refusal to become prostitute
By Tazeen Ahmad, NBC News
The decapitation of a young woman who resisted being forced into prostitution by her own family has led to the arrests of four Afghans, and shocked a country that has seen its share of violence over decades of war.
Mahgul, a 25-year-old newlywed, was murdered in Herat, a region of western Afghanistan where attacks against women have been on the rise, Afghan police told journalists. Her killing this past week was particularly disturbing because her body was found decapitated outside her marital home.
Police said the arrests on Saturday include her mother-in-law, father-in-law, and her husband.
The fourth individual is reported to be her husband’s cousin, who was arrested later after witnesses said he was seen with a bloody knife outside the house at the time the murder took place. The 18-year-old, identified only as Najibullah, confessed to the crime in front of reporters and television cameras, saying his aunt, Parigul, forced him to kill Mahgul.
“My uncle’s wife told me I should kill this person,” he told reporters. “I couldn’t kill her. She told me, ‘if you can’t kill her, then help me do it.’ She forced me and I helped her.”
He described how his aunt held Mahgul down by the legs as he beheaded her. Najibullah said his aunt told him she wanted the bride dead "'because she doesn’t listen to me.'"
Police said their investigation has led them to conclude Mahgul was killed because she refused to become a prostitute and that during her four months of marriage she was repeatedly pressured by her mother-in-law to sleep with other men.
READ FULL STORY HERE
By Tazeen Ahmad, NBC News
The decapitation of a young woman who resisted being forced into prostitution by her own family has led to the arrests of four Afghans, and shocked a country that has seen its share of violence over decades of war.
Mahgul, a 25-year-old newlywed, was murdered in Herat, a region of western Afghanistan where attacks against women have been on the rise, Afghan police told journalists. Her killing this past week was particularly disturbing because her body was found decapitated outside her marital home.
Police said the arrests on Saturday include her mother-in-law, father-in-law, and her husband.
The fourth individual is reported to be her husband’s cousin, who was arrested later after witnesses said he was seen with a bloody knife outside the house at the time the murder took place. The 18-year-old, identified only as Najibullah, confessed to the crime in front of reporters and television cameras, saying his aunt, Parigul, forced him to kill Mahgul.
“My uncle’s wife told me I should kill this person,” he told reporters. “I couldn’t kill her. She told me, ‘if you can’t kill her, then help me do it.’ She forced me and I helped her.”
He described how his aunt held Mahgul down by the legs as he beheaded her. Najibullah said his aunt told him she wanted the bride dead "'because she doesn’t listen to me.'"
Police said their investigation has led them to conclude Mahgul was killed because she refused to become a prostitute and that during her four months of marriage she was repeatedly pressured by her mother-in-law to sleep with other men.
READ FULL STORY HERE
