A fifteen year old girl, Geesa, was beheaded in Afghanistan last week after her father turned down a marriage proposal by an older, male family member.
According to the Telegraph, “Geesa, was attacked earlier this week by two men from the spurned family as she went to collect water from a stream in her village in northern Afghanistan.”
According to Unicef, forced marriages are illegal for girls under sixteen, but still regularly occur.
Forced and early marriages entrap girls and deprive them of their basic rights… In arranged marriages, the families play a leading role, but the individuals getting married can supposedly choose whether to marry or not. In many cases, the border between forced and arranged marriage is imperceptible.
Unfortunately, Gesha’s murder is one in a string of violent crimes against women. The Telegraph explains:
The provincial director of women's affairs said the province had been hit by a wave of violence against women.
Nadira Giah said 11 girls and women had been killed this year, up fivefold from last year.
In January, a young woman was reportedly murdered in the province by her husband and her mother-in-law for giving birth to a daughter. The 22-year-old woman called Stori was strangled after giving birth to a third daughter, when her husband wanted a son.
According to the Independent, legal protection of women is fairly recent and in conflict with the Taliban, who formerly stoned adulterers and dismantled women’s rights.