A teenage girl in Daikundi province has been beaten by two men, who she identified as armed Taliban members, after she fought them off in an alleged attempted rape.
The incident happened Thursday August 31 in the afternoon, near the Qochanghi area of Ashtarlai district, according to three sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The 14-year-old girl was initially harassed while she was grazing her family’s herd of sheep by the two men who were passing by on a motorbike, according to a source.
“When they saw that the girl was alone, they got off their motorcycles and took the girl by the hand,” the source said. “But the girl resisted and hit one of the two armed Taliban on the head with a stone during the struggle and ran away.”
But the men chased after her and caught her, upon which they beat her, and then left the area, the source said.
For security reasons, the sources did not share the girl’s name.
When the local elders learned of the incident, they went immediately to the Taliban’s district office to file a complaint. However, a source said no action has been taken by the local Taliban authorities in the 13 days since then.
Meanwhile, other sources told Rukhshana Media that these events appear to be increasing in Daikundi province, with more girls and women complaining of being harassed or sexually assaulted by Taliban members.
One of sources said she recently saw a 13-year-old girl hospitalised in Daikundi Central Hospital after she had been sexually assaulted.
Taliban authorities in Daikundi have not yet commented on the matter.
