I was reading about the plight of women in Afghanistan for obvious reasons and happened to stumble upon this gruesome incident. On 15th March 2015, a 27-year-old Afghan girl Farkhunda Malikzada, wrongly accused of burning a Quran was killed by a furious mob in central Kabul. Few incidents can match the cruelty of this episode. Farkhunda Malikzada, a student of Islamic law had been working as a volunteer teacher. On a fateful day, she got into an argument with Zain-ul-Din, the caretaker at the Shah-e Du Shamshira shrine who was selling charms in the name of religion. Farkhunda called those charms un-Islamic and superstitious. In the effort to save his business, he started shouting, “This woman is an American and she has burnt the Quran!”
In no time, hundreds of men gathered and started throwing stones at the woman who found herself in an unavoidable situation. Policemen were present at the spot but they seemed to do nothing.
I found the video of the brutal incident and hence pasted it at the end of this article. People who are not comfortable watching the heinous sequence are advised to avoid it.
Farkhunda Malikzada was brutally killed with stones by around 150 men of her own country and religion. They didn’t stop at that. Her lifeless body was crushed under a car and then burnt. The incident got international coverage. This could be the reason we are having access to this episode. We don’t have an idea how many women suffer from these brutal beatings every day.
What we learnt from Farkhunda Malikzada case
Farkhunda episode exposed many truths about Afghanistan men and women.
* Women have no say in most of the matters. If a woman gathers the courage to speak against the man’s monopoly, her voice is curbed in such a horrible manner that the rest of the woman tribe gets a frightening lesson to not to raise a voice against injustice.
** Men in Afghanistan have a fixed mindset and they treat a woman as a commodity. For them, women should not gain education or lead in any matter. Not only this, fashion, sports and music are forbidden for women. I feel that Afghanistan is not fair to its women when it comes to freedom and expression.
*** Farkhunda Malikzada was killed in broad daylight by the people of her country whom she had considered as her saviours. They killed her for a crime she didn’t even commit. While some men participated in throwing stones on the innocent Farkhunda, the rest filmed the incident on their mobile phones. Heartless is an inadequate word to describe those people. The video given below is the collection of the short clips recorded by the ‘onlookers’.
Afghanistan is a country where women struggle to live with dignity. It’s a shame on humanity that today many women have to suffer because of the beastly instincts of men. While the world is fast moving towards the next evolution stage, such happenings push us back to the stone age. We who are living far away from Afghanistan can feel the agony, the women go through in that country. Think, how traumatic it would be for those women whose life is a vicious cycle of these occurrences.
Women Safety in Afghanistan
Safety is a word, Afghanistan women can’t relate to. From domestic abuse to social inequality, Afghan women go through a lot of traumatic ordeals in their lifetimes. When women around the world are crying out for equal gender rights, these women don’t even get the right to survive with dignity. I can’t see hope nearby as the Taliban have taken control of the country, to worsen the situation.
This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla and powered by Deyga.
This post is written as a part of Blogchatter’s Cause A Chatter challenge.
PANORAMIC RIPPLES 
Quite a disturbing episode, and not one that I had heard before. What troubles me more is how these kinds of episodes — of mob violence and lynching — are becoming much more pervasive in our own beautiful country, India.
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What Taliban and some extremists potray is not Islam , infact totally opposite.
Being a practising muslim and have read Holy Quraan and other religious books , I can say it .
It’s sad that people are imposing thier thoughts as Ways of Islam .
Islam teaches love and humanity.
Respect for women.
Encourage them to study.
But people do differently and women suffer .
Ghazala
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I don’t have the courage to watch the video, but Afghanistan doesn’t deserve its women. You’ve said it aptly-the country treats its women as commodities.
I’ve been following the horrible developments in Afghanistan lately and I can say that greed, extremism, and politics have driven out humanity.
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Sad truth of the women there. Hope God helps and blesses them in some way!
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I don’t have the heart to watch the video, Aditi. It appears people have become de-sensitized to such incidents. It infuriates me that some people will actually defend this. Fundamentalism is more about power than religion.
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A very disturbing incident. There are so many we might not even know about. It is sad to see what Afghanistan has turned to. If you see the images from 1960s and 1970s, you cannot believe it is the same country. Men fought for power and women faced the repercussions.
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We have all heard about the atrocities against women in Afghanistan. However, to see through this video, after reading about it, is something that is going to haunt me for a long time. No God or Religion preaches this. Shameful.
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Really very disturbing videos… Afganistan is really in a pathetic condition and especially for women… can’t understand what these Taliban people want. Sick mentality what else. All the men were running away leaving their women and girls behind. A really sad state.
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With the current situation, whatever little progress the women had made in the last decade has gone to waste. It is a horrific incident and sadly it is the reality of women there. Unless there is an uprising of women or a way to move them out (wishful thinking on my part) this situation will continue. What would the men do in a woman-less country then? Maybe 3-4 generations down the line things may change if the women decide to bring up their sons by teaching the importance of equality.
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Very disturbing video, I must say. Not only in Afghanistan, but also everywhere in the world this is the scenario. Actually it’s women who have to stand together against the violence. And it’s also their duty to teach their sons to respect women. Then only such brutality against us can be come to an end.
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Don’t we all take it for granted? I’m reading this while sipping a cup of morning tea. Totally unaware of what’s happening in the real world. Makes me question my privilege big time. And a slightly unpopular opinion. It’s not just about women. Extremists won’t spare anyone on the basis of gender. While they target women first because it’s easier to do so, I don’t think these animals would behave any differently when it comes to men also.
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Disturbing me to see the brutuility. How can these people are so heartless? I guess, it is not only Afganistan but in every city women goes through this stage. Its 2021, we talked only about feminism and all but what actually we are doing?
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Such a horrific time for women in Afghanistan! We cannot even imagine what it must be like for them there. We read such articles on atrocities on women in the Taliban rule it gives us shivers. Sick and horrible mentality!
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After reading your post, I saw the video… it’s truly heartbreaking… may her soul rest in peace. May the people of Afghanistan find peace.
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I watched this video, not once but twice and the more I watched it I feel pain not for Farkhunda who was brutally killed in the daylight but for us. Who still pretend that nothing happened, that this is normal, that it is ok to shut our mouth, that injustice can happen in other countries. Our voices are shut and I feel the pain that I am living but not alive.
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I just pray that things improve in Afghanistan.
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I really do not have courage to watch this video.May the woman of Afganistan find peace and courage to fight this cruelty.
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I was reading that there were lots of opportunities available in Afghanistan for women in past. But present situation is not good for women and girl.
Hope that the things be favorable for them soon. All prayers for them.
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It is Heart wrenching to see such visuals or even to read about such cruel incidents happening. I wish these incidents should stop and each being gets respect, That is the least a person should do to the other.
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I do empathise with these women but right now I am mentally so weak that I do not relate to anything. I am sorry, Aditi. I admire your grit in writing and sharing this post.
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There are many cases in the world, Case of Malala is also one of them. This one is so heartbreaking, how a woman was beaten and murdered brutally. Do you believe that these people ever read Quran? If yes, then why they did such heinous crime without knowing the real matter.
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I really hope things change for the better soon
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Terribly sad… I did not have the heart to see the video. Let’s hope and pray something changes for the better.
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Hopefully ❤
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