Women killed for giving birth to a girl in Afghanistan

1 Feb

A 22 year-old-woman has been killed in Afghanistan, allegedly because she gave birth to a third daughter when her husband’s family wanted a son.
 Sofi Habib, the police chief in the Khanabad district in the remote Northern Province of Kunduz told told CBS News that the victim, identified by the single name Storai, was found dead in her home 2 days ago. Police believe she was strangled by her husband, Sher Muhamad and her mother-in-law, who they say were enraged by the birth of a baby girl.

 The husband has now fled the village of Mahfalay where the killing took place but his mother is now in custody and the police say she will be charged in the killing. The infant survived the attack and is now safe in the home of her maternal grandparents.

 This case is an extreme example of a common social problem: young wives are often abused by their husbands and in-laws if they give birth to daughter. The arrival of a son on the other hand is greeted with celebration, typically a party 6 days after the birth.

 The killing was condemned by the Women’s Affairs Department of Kunduz. The province was just recently in the news for another case in December which three sisters and their mother were disfigured in an acid attack after one of the girls had refused a proposal of marriage. The four suspects in that case have not been found.

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