Qalat: A man named Mumtaz in southern Zabul province of Afghanistan first shaved wife, Nazia’s head and then cut off her ears, and nose and damaged her teeth on the first day of Eid ul Adha, an Islamic ritual of sacrifice.
Hospital sources in Qalat, center of Zabul, told this scribe by phone that Nazia, 17, was admitted on Wednesday (First day of Eid) evening and now she was in a critical condition due to the severe beating she has borne.
Provincial Police Chief of Zabul, Gen. Mohammad Yaqub Khan, when contacted, confirmed this brutal incident and confessed that the police were still unable to arrest the man.
‘The police are searching for him, he has disappeared’ Khan added.
Moreover, he told that a brother of the culprit was police officer who is currently under investigation.
According to a resident of the area, the husband and wife were recently moved to Zabul from eastern Paktiya province for unknown reasons.
The abused woman Nazia, lying on her hospital bed and uncertain about her future, told that her husband, twice her age, had suspicions about her behavior. She added 'I swore to him many times that I was faithful to him but he did not believed. He used to beat me. A few days before Eid, he shaved my head and beat me severely. On the first day of the Eid, he cut my ears, then my nose, then damaged my teeth and beat me until my hands and legs were broken.'
'I was second wife of Mumtaz. The first wife was already killed by him' she added with a flow of tears from her eyes.
A report of BBCPashto adds that many women in Zabul province has protested on Saturday against this brutal act and demanded immediate arrest of the beast. 'We condemn this and we declare it the worst violation against the women' said a protester.
Fauzia Younasi, the provincial director of the women department has visited the hospital and shown her concerns over the matter. She ordered the doctors to do their best to save her life. 'She has suffered so much, she is beaten severly, her ears and nose is cut off, her teeth are totally damaged so she cant speak' she told media.
Residents of the area told that Nazia was married to this man one year ago.
The war-torn country is being to lead on a slow pace to democracy and political stability but violations against human rights, especially in the southern and eastern provinces, are still common. ‘Legal reforms designed to protect women are not implemented and women continued to be detained for breaching social mores. There was a rise in cases of “honour” killings of women and self-immolation by women’ says Amnesty International 2007 Report on Afghanistan.
