Mentally-ill woman killed by a mob in Afghanistan for burning Quran

A member of the Taliban’s religious police beating an Afghan woman in Kabul on August 26, 2001.       

A woman who was mentally-ill was killed by a mob of people after she set Quran, Islam’s holy book on fire in Afghanistan.

The incident said to be taken place in downtown Kabul, which is usually crowded and busy area.

During the rule of the Taliban (1996 – 2001), women were treated worse than during any other leadership in the history of Afghanistan. They were forbidden to work, to leave the house without a male escort, to seek medical help from a male doctor.

Under the Taliban regime, women were also forced to cover themselves completely from head to toe, even covering their eyes. Women who were doctors and teachers suddenly were forced to be beggars and even prostitutes in order to feed their families. Women accused of prostitution were publicly stoned to death in the soccer stadium in Kabul.

As reported by DNA– The family of the victim met the Kabul police’s criminal investigation team and said their daughter had been suffering from mental illness for many years, a security official said.

Human rights groups have raised concerns whether enough was done to stop the mob. “I would certainly hope the government would be trying to arrest and prosecute everyone who was involved and doing an internal investigation into whether the police response was appropriate,” said Heather Barr, a senior researcher for women’s rights in Asia for Human Rights Watch.