A female Afghan rights activist was filmed being gang-raped and tortured by armed men in a Taliban prison, according to a shocking report.
Reports of sexual violence being inflicted on women and girls in Afghanistan since the Taliban re-took the country in 2021 have been on the rise.
However, the video – seen by the Guardian – is thought to be the first tangible evidence that proves these crimes are being committed in the country.
DETAILS OF THE VIDEO
The British publication said the video showed the young woman being told to take off her clothes. She is then seen being raped multiple times by two men.
She tries to cover her face with her hands as she is attacked, The Guardian said, and one of the two men ‘pushes her hard’ when she hesitates to follow their orders.
At one point in the video, she is told: ‘You’ve been f***ed by Americans all these years and now it’s our turn,’ the newspaper reports.
VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENTS
The woman seen in the video told reporters at The Guardian and Rukhshana Media (an Afghan women’s media organisation) that she was arrested for taking part in protests against the Taliban regime and held in a prison.
The video was filmed on the mobile phone of one of the two male attackers.
The woman, who has not been named, believes that it was deliberately recorded so that it could be used to shame her into ending her criticism of the government.
In the video of the attack, she can be seen standing naked and her face is visible, The Guardian said, making her identifiable.
She has since left the country, but said that the clip was sent to her after she fled in order to intimidate her after she criticised the Taliban.
The woman was told that the video would be shared widely on social media if she continued to protest the Taliban, and sent to her family.
