26 arrests after mob beats, burns Afghan woman

[azurnoir]

Source: CNN

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN)Grieving women carried her coffin high on their shoulders in scenes many said they had never witnessed before in the Afghan capital.

Men are traditionally pallbearers in Kabul, where days earlier a mob of male attackers beat and kicked 27-year-old Farkhunda before tossing her off a bridge, setting her body on fire and throwing it in the river. Like many Afghans, Farkhunda used only one name.

Early reports suggested that Farkhunda was mentally ill, but her tearful father, Nadir, told CNN affiliate TOLOnews she was a religious teacher who taught the Quran to children. He said there was no way his daughter would burn pages of the holy book, which has been cited as the motive for the horrific attack.

Twenty-six people have been arrested in connection with the brutal killing, Afghanistan's Interior Minister Noorul Haq Ulumi said Monday in a statement before parliament.


Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/23/asia/afghanistan-woman-killed/index.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

[seveneyes]

1. Lock them all away for life in solitary cells

And only give them pages of their revered book for toilet paper, plus a lighter. No excuse for their abuse of that poor woman. Idiots, all of them.

[get the red out]

2. Are we supposed to be shocked?

I am actually shocked that there were arrests.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

3. That IS surprising ...

... I thought the pallbearers would be arrested. For carrying a coffin while female.

This case will be interesting.

[cosmicone]

4. Exactly

I shall not comment on the culture that espouses such practices because I don't want the post hidden.

[Comrade Grumpy]

6. And I won't comment on the culture that espouses these practices:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bride_burning

[cosmicone]

7. hahahahahahaha

The only difference is that bride-burning is neither sanctioned by society nor religion -- it is practiced by a few of greedy families most of whom are punished by law.

Unlike what I was commenting on where such practices are considered religious and sanctioned by the society.

[azurnoir]

9. 6000 cases a year with 2/3 of those brought to trial ending in aquital isn't state sanctioning

then what is it-turning a blind eye?

According to Indian National Crime Record Bureau, there were 1,948 convictions and 3,876 acquittals in dowry death cases in 2008.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bride_burning

[cosmicone]

11. Ayaan Hirsi Ali would think of this as pointing fingers at others

so as to not face the truth in one's own culture.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/a-reformation-for-islam-1426859626?mod=trending_now_1

Every time brutal terrorism is brought up, the argument is always America/Israel/Russia/UK/India also do it. It prevents serious introspection and atonement.

[azurnoir]

13. Here's photo of Ali with a good friend of her's that would be Pam Geller -nuff said

[cosmicone]

14. Guilt by association?

Has Ayaan Hirsi Ali ever made a factually wrong statement? No. Some just don't like what she writes because it leads to introspection.

[azurnoir]

15. Introspection? her absolute bigotry most certainly does not lead to introspection

revulsion is more like it

[samsingh]

22. she is not wrong in what she is saying. and if people listened and understand, militancy

in Islam would go down.

[azurnoir]

16. Not guilt by association at all IMO like minded would be closer to it

[samsingh]

21. i don't know what you are getting at

[azurnoir]

24. well it'll have to be mystery I guess but tell us did this so mystify you too?

[samsingh]

30. that disgusted me

especially the french kissing and i'm not sure on which perspective was more repulsive.

[azurnoir]

32. what French kissing? There was none in the photo I posted and which perspective are you speaking of?

30. that disgusted me

especially the french kissing and i'm not sure on which perspective was more repulsive.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10141046829#post30

[samsingh]

34. that happened before the picture was taken. probably on youtube for those interested.

bush and the king.

[samsingh]

20. she is brave and right

[samsingh]

18. me too

[Oktober]

29. Most will be out soon..

Don't worry...

[marshall]

41. Were they participants in the burning, or were they trying to stop it?

The article just says they were arrested in connection to the burning--leaving it unclear whether the 26 were burners or whether they were trying to stop the burning.

[get the red out]

42. Hard to know which is considered "wrong"

Killing a mere woman or trying to stop the killing?

[Catherine Vincent]

5. This is just SICK!

I am holding back the tears right now. I hope of the men arrested is the liar that said she burned the koran in the first place. Does this man not feel guilty that a woman was tortured and brutally killed because of his lie? But even if she did this there's no need to kill someone. I don't understand some of those people and their thought process.

In this link you can see 2 pics where the mob surrounds her body as it's burned. It's a distance, so you can't see anything. And most of the large crowd gathered around and did nothing to help.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-3007322/Afghan-protesters-demand-justice-woman-killed-mob.html

[heaven05]

8. such ignorant, cruel people

guided by a cruel and archaic religious system, tis sad indeed........

[cosmicone]

12. They have plenty of support right here on DU. n/t

[riderinthestorm]

17. +1000. Plenty of DUers who are cultural relativists who believe we can't criticize this

and/or who don't believe we can criticize disgusting archaic religious practices brought into western cultures where they inevitably clash.

[get the red out]

25. Exactly

One of the running themes that keeps me from being a "good liberal".

[azurnoir]

36. while I'm not surprised to see Democrats bashed for being "cultural relativists" I am surprised

here on DU, and BTW do you consider Afghanistan to be western cultural because unless you do it makes little sense within the the context of this thread because it was indeed western culture that came to Afghanistan and indeed that same western culture that allowed radical militants like the Taliban to flourish unchecked until it became politically advantageous to go do something not necessarily constructive but good for feeling like we're doing something

[riderinthestorm]

37. So you think the abuse or killing of Afghan women is a recent phenomenon?

Caused by western intervention? Or that blasphemy against the Quran hasn't always resulted in death?

Really?

You do know the Quran specifically tells men How to beat women right? It also contains the rules for slavery, discrimination against non-Muslims and the punishment for blasphemy? These issues go back centuries and pre-date western intervention. While Kabul may have been relatively modern before the Soviet Union's campaign in Afghanistan ended, pretty much the entire rest of the country was (is) still back in the Middle Ages.

And yes, I do have a problem with cultural relativists of any political affiliation. I won't stop speaking out about discriminatory and misogynistic practices because that's their "religion" or their "culture".

So yup, there will be Dems who are challenged on their cultural relativism when I see it.

This is a discussion board after all.

[azurnoir]

38. Do you think Afghanistan to be a Western Culture? going by your comment it could seem so

riderinthestorm (17,667 posts)
17. +1000. Plenty of DUers who are cultural relativists who believe we can't criticize this

and/or who don't believe we can criticize disgusting archaic religious practices brought into western cultures where they inevitably clash.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=1047164

[riderinthestorm]

39. I don't. I've never said they are

my second paragraph was referring to the practices brought into the west by cultures like Afghanistan.

Sorry I wasn't clear.

[azurnoir]

40. perhaps that comment was not clear but the rest of your statements have been thanks

[smirkymonkey]

47. I know, it just outrages me. This is one of the most sickening, barbaric

things I have ever read about. I don't know if anyone has read into this further or seen some of the footage, but it is beyond contempt. The people who are responsible for this deserve to pay with their lives. A culture that supports this is inferior.

[Skidmore]

33. I have not seen one person vocalize support of this behavior on DU

or elsewhere. Not one post have I read that did not condemn this poor woman's murder in the most vociferous terms.

[cosmicone]

35. Only for each isolated incident.

Try saying anything about the root cause of why this behavior flourishes and is condoned and see your posts get hidden.

I got a post hidden because I dared to ask why burning Q'uraan is such a big deal when burning a bible, a torah, a geeta, a zend avesta or any other religious book doesn't incur a penalty of death. Only burning or desecrating a Q'uraan does. Or even a suspicion of burning a Q'uraan as stated in the OP.

[LanternWaste]

44. Doubtfully hidden, as I've read many posts analyzing, contrasting and comparing cultural mores...

"why this behavior flourishes and is condoned and see your posts get hidden..."

Doubtfully hidden, as I've read many posts analyzing, contrasting and comparing cultural mores... unless of course, one is predisposed to using irrelevant (though colorful and pejorative) language. I do however, realize the sub-literate will often feel a self-validating level martyrdom at the merest hint their petulance is extraneous and off-topic.

[cosmicone]

45. It is more vexatious and pernicious than that

Despite profundity and non-incendiary euphemisms, anything written cogently and stoically about one particular religion gives rise to murderous desires in some quarters and a rampage to hide subject posts with screams of ____phobia.

Hiding posts is inherently asinine because it obfuscates any further dialog. This is exactly what Ayaan Hirsi Ali points out in her essays in WSJ. The innate passion to silence all critics does not advance any thought.

I had a post hidden that contained no writing on my part, just an already well-published cartoon.

[riderinthestorm]

48. When it's this kind of atrocity against women, of course it's universally condemned

its the other stuff that occurs within a culture that contribute to the denigration of women - burqas, not being able to testify in court, not being able to own their own businesses, not being full participants in the mosque etc. Those types of cultural mores that invariably add up to the oppression of women.

I've been in many arguments here on DU with those who tell me flat out I don't get to "tell people" their cultural practices are problematic. Had it happen just last week with the woman whose suing over having to take off her hijab for a mug shot in MI.

[samsingh]

19. yes

[get the red out]

26. No guilt, she's just a woman

He, and MANY of the men there, would probably feel more guilt causing the death of a rat than a woman.

[Dont call me Shirley]

10. Farkhunda...

[hopemountain]

23. ...

[Darb]

27. Good thing we invaded and occupied this shithole.

What a brilliant idea, spend a trillion in a place full of cavemen and accomplish jack shit.

[Sunlei]

28. they did NOT arrest the local 'mullah-man' who sent her to the lynch-mob of local men

they didn't even arrest the crowd of happy local men who smiled while they killed her

[Larry Engels]

31. I'm glad they got some of them.

The video, even with the blurred image, is horrific.

[e-cigdub]

43. Dont worry everybody

The united nations condemnation of abuse of women was released a few days back and out of the all the countries including afghanista, saudi arabia, yemen, syria (where thousands of women and children have been slaughtered)

ONLY ISRAEL was condemnd... thats right... according to the un report.. AFGHANISTAN apparently has a better human rights record then israel.. as we can see in this video.. womens rights are paramount in afghanistan.. not so much in israel though..

[azurnoir]

46. welcome to DU e-cigdub that shocking indeed I'd like to know more do you have a link?