Afghan child bride's in-laws sentenced for torture

This photo taken Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011 shows Sahar Gul, a 15-year-old Afghan wife, being carried in a wheelchair to a hospital in Baghlan, north of Kabul, Afghanistan. Family members are accused of torturing and illegally detaining their son's teenage wife for the past six months while trying to force her into a life of crime. / AP Photo/Jawed Basharat

(AP) KABUL, Afghanistan - The in-laws of a child bride who became the bruised and bloodied face of women's rights in Afghanistan have been sentenced to 10 years in prison for torture, abuse and human rights violations, a judge said Saturday.

The plight of 15-year-old Sahar Gul captivated the nation and set off a storm of international condemnation when it came to light in late December. Officials said her husband's family kept her in a basement for six months after her arranged marriage, ripping out her fingernails, breaking her fingers and torturing her with hot irons in an attempt to force her into prostitution.

She was rescued by police in northeastern Baghlan province after an uncle alerted authorities.

Gul's husband's father, mother and sister were each sentenced to 10 years in prison by a court in Kabul on Tuesday, presiding judge Sibghatullah Razi said.

Tortured Afghan girl wants in-laws jailed

Also found guilty were Gul's husband, a member of the Afghan army, and her brother-in-law, both of whom have been on the run since her case became public, Razi said. He said the men will be sentenced when they are captured.

Gul was present for the decision, telling the court that she wanted her in-laws "severely punished" for what they had put her through, Razi said. She has filed an appeal for a longer sentence with the help of the Women for Afghan Women, a group that works for women's rights in the country and has been caring for the teenager since her rescue.

"Of course we are not happy with the court's decision," said Huma Safi, program manager for the group.

Gul's case has prompted calls for more efforts to strengthen women's rights and end underage marriage. The legal marriage age in Afghanistan is 16, but the United Nations agency UN Women estimates that half of all girls are forced to marry under age 15.

There has been progress in women's rights since the 2001 U.S.-led campaign that toppled the Taliban regime, which banned girls' schools and prevented women from leaving the house unless accompanied by a male relative.

But ending abuse remains a huge challenge in Afghanistan's patriarchal society, where traditional practices include child marriage, giving girls away to settle debts or pay for their relatives' crimes and so-called honor killings in which women seen as disgracing their families are murdered by their relatives.

Gul, who had been married for seven months when she was found in late December, is still seeing doctors for some problems with her hands and fingers, but is doing better both physically and emotionally, Safi said. She said the girl is now very interested in studying, very different from when she first arrived.

She also has made great progress in her efforts to become comfortable around other people again, Safi said.

"She was very brave. When she was brought to us after her rescue, she was unable to speak. But this week she was able to get up and speak in front of an entire courtroom asking for her rights," Safi said.

"These are all positive signs and of course we are very proud of her."

[Devlyn13]

that is a disgrace that they only got 10 years they should have been stoned to death and what is taking so long to get the husband and his brother. and to top it off these are the bas tards our goverment sends money to.

[SUZAMBA]

We, as women are fortunate to live where we still are able to speak our minds.

[realtimecoffee]

And as a male I wouldn't want it any other way SUZAMBA.

[Rafterman11]

I imagine once the Taliban retake power (and they will, it was stupid to thin we could change their way of life), they will release all these pieces of crud that committed crimes against women.

[Lerianis6]

I doubt it. The Taliban dislike people who do violence against women for no reason and even they were saying that there was no reason here.

The problem is that their definition of 'reason' is a bit wider than most Americans and the non-Muslim worlds.

[technocoffee]

I feel so badly for women & girls in these woman-abusing societies. We used to boycott South Africa for it's treatment of black & brown people. Why don't more countries boycott & introduce economic sanctions on Cave Man Fool countries like Afghanistan/Yemen/Saudi Arabia who commit child rape after a wedding & call it "Marriage"??

[itoldyouso40]

It all depends on whether other countries want their resources or not.

[Lerianis6]

technocoffee, it's only 'child rape' in your opinion. The bottom line is that since we are born with genitals, it's pretty apparent that we are supposed to be sexually active from birth.
Another fact: Since there is no forcefield between adult and children's genitalia, it's kinda obvious that they are supposed to be having sex together.

You want to bash on the people who physically force children into sexual activities? Fine, but stop bashing on EVERYONE who is attracted to children, because most of them would never even dream of doing that.

[robert1129]

While I do not agree with the way these men treat their women, it is not up to us to correct this. It is up to the Afghan people.

[Lerianis6]

Unfortunately, true.

[itoldyouso40]

Very sad indeed! They should all be locked away for a lifetime.

Wait....isn't this where the Republicans are heading with women in this country?

[kurn3]

damn sad!!