KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Thursday pardoned an Afghan woman serving a 12-year prison sentence for having sex out of wedlock after she was raped by a relative.
Karzai's office said in a statement that the woman and her attacker have agreed to marry. That would reverse an earlier decision by the 19-year-old woman, who had previously refused a judge's offer of freedom if she agreed to marry the rapist.
Her plight was highlighted in a documentary that the European Union blocked because it feared the women featured in the film would be in danger if it were shown.
More than 5,000 people recently signed a petition urging Karzai to release the woman. She had the man's child while in prison and raised her daughter behind bars, which is common among women imprisoned in Afghanistan.
I'm just horrified. How can this ever have been pushed through a court? I'm also grossed out that the headlines for most papers focus on her pardon, not the fact that she was imprisoned for being a victim of sexual assault. The article goes on to explain there are hundreds of women in prison for moral crimes like leaving their husbands.
This has to stop. Around the world, a basic minimum respect must be shown to all people.
Update:
Right before this goes out, I see an alternative report from BBC News saying she does not have to marry her attacker, and this was corrected by the President's office. The link above takes you to a Huffington Post article that says she does have to marry her attacker. I will assume the correction stands, but did not edit HuffPo's quote.
It still doesn't change the fact that she was in prison, but it makes the conditions of her pardon far more acceptable.
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