Thousands watch as Taliban executes woman

[Ulhas Joglekar]

19 November 1999
Thousands watch as Taliban executes woman
KABUL: Thousands of people watched Tuesday as a woman, cowering beneath a
pale blue, all-enveloping cloak, was shot and killed in the first public
execution of a woman in Kabul since the Taliban religious army took control
three years ago.
The woman, identified only as Zareena, a mother of seven children, was found
guilty of killing her husband with a steel hammer as he slept. The reason
for the killing two years ago was a ''family dispute,'' according to a
Taliban soldier who did not give his name.
Zareena was taken to a sports stadium on the back of a pickup truck. As she
was taken from the truck, two female police officers held her arms.
Witnesses said the convicted woman walked slowly, each step followed by a
pause. At the center of the field one of the women ordered her to sit.
Behind her a young Taliban soldier, his head wrapped in the traditional
turban, took aim with his Kalashnikov rifle. But suddenly Zareena stood up
and tried to flee. A policewoman stopped her and forced her to sit,
witnesses said.
The Taliban soldier moved closer and shot her three times.
Afterward several people in the crowd shouted ''God is great.''
The stadium was packed with men and women, many of whom had brought their
children.
One woman, running quickly toward the stadium seats as she pushed her small
children ahead of her, said: ''This is the first time a woman has been
killed. I wanted to see.''
The Taliban has imposed their harsh brand of Islamic law in the
approximately 90 per cent of Afghanistan under their control. The Taliban
says its version of Islam is a pure one that follows a literal
interpretation of the Koran.
Under Taliban laws, murderers are publicly executed by the relatives of
their victims. Adulterers are stoned to death and the limbs of thieves are
amputated. Lesser crimes are punished by public beatings.(AP)

For reprint rights: Times Syndication Service
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Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. 1999.