An Afghan woman has alleged that former Taliban spokesperson Qari Saeed Khosty forcibly married and repeatedly raped her.
In a video that has spread online, a tearful woman identified herself as Elaha and claimed that Khosty forcibly married her in January.
“He raped me every night. He tortured and beat me up every night,” she said.
Elaha said she was a student at Kabul Medical University and the daughter of a former general who worked at the National Directorate of Security (NDS) in Kabul under the US-supported government.
In the video, which includes images appearing to show her injuries, she also claimed that Khosty filmed her rape and blackmailed her with it.
Elaha details once trying to escape before being caught by Taliban officials at the Torkham border crossing to Pakistan. She claimed she was imprisoned and ordered to apologize to Khosty and kiss his feet.
“After posting this video, maybe no one will see me again, I might be killed. But to die once is better than dying a thousand times,” Elaha said.
CBS News spoke to a friend of Elaha, who confirmed her story and said she is still desperate to flee the country.
Khosty, who was removed from his role as the Taliban’s Interior Ministry spokesman in March, took to Twitter to deny the allegations. He has claimed the marriage was consensual and says there were issues because her Muslim “faith is weak.” He had decided to divorce her because she insulted the Quran, he said.
In his tweet, Khosty apologized to the Taliban for taking Elaha as his second wife, which was in violation of the group’s new ban on taking multiple wives last year.
Khosty did not respond to Insider’s request for comment.
A video also circulated on social media appearing to show Elaha’s mother using a broom to prevent Khosty from entering her home.
Another video appears to show Khosty in Elaha’s house. Khosty can be heard warning Elaha that he has gunmen with him.
Elaha appears to be seen lying injured in a hospital bed in another video.
Journalist Ruchi Kumar said on Twitter that she had verified the veracity of the videos. She added that she had heard reports of many women related to former Afghan security officials facing abuse, sexual assault, and forced marriage by Taliban fighters.
“The “amnesty” apparently doesn’t extend to women of their family,” she noted, referring to the group’s promise that it would not seek retribution against former government officials.
Despite the promises of amnesty, reports have continually emerged about former government officials and activists being targeted by the Taliban.
The Taliban has dismantled structures to protect women and girls from violence.
Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021, international charities have raised concerns about the group’s treatment of women.
According to UN Women, the militant group has systematically excluded women and girls from public life since its takeover, including banning girls from attending school beyond the sixth grade and preventing women from working many jobs outside the home.
The group also dismantled structures to protect women and girls from violence, including shutting shelters, legal assistance programs, and specialized prosecution units and courts, according to Human Rights Watch.
A Twitter account claiming to be of a Kabul court tweeted on Wednesday that Elaha had been arrested for defamation, but the tweet was said to be fake by both the Taliban-run Supreme Court and Elaha’s friend, per CBS News.
In response to Elaha’s video, the hashtag #JusticeForElaha spread across social media in support of her.
Samira Hamidi, a South Asia-based campaigner with Amnesty International, called on the United Nations to save Elaha.
“The testimony of Elaha, a medical student about her forced marriage, rape & torture by a powerful Armed Talib is shocking reality of what dozens of women & girls are facing,” she wrote on Twitter.
Source: Business insider
