12 years old rape victim seeks release from jail

QALAT (PAN): A 12-year-old girl on Thursday complained she had been sent to jail after being raped by her neighbour in the Shahr-i-Safa district of southern Zabul province.

But prosecutors said that the girl and her two brothers were taken into custody after the alleged rapist, 21 years old, was publicly sodomised.

The teenager, who was sent to a juvenile centre in Qalat 13 days ago, said: “The rapist’s sister invited me to her home. As I entered, the girl locked me up in a room, where her brother abused me thrice.”

When the minor came out of the room, the rapist’s father asked her to stay silent; otherwise he would stand defamed, the victim told Pajhwok Afghan News.

After returning home, the girl told her parents about her ordeal at the hands of Abdul Wahid. But they also advised her not to tell anyone about the incident.

The neighbour later brought his son to her house, according to the victim, who quoted the man as saying: “Give him the punishment you want.” Subsequently, she added: “My brothers stripped the rapist naked.”

As a result, she was detained along with three of her brothers. Abdul Wahid and two of his sisters were also imprisoned in the case, she said. Despite being a rape victim, she had been detained, the girl grumbled, denouncing the action as a plain injustice.

“I have done nothing wrong. Why should I be punished? Instead the guy who raped me should be brought to justice,” she continued.

Director of Women’s Affairs Fawzia Younusi Kakar said many similar cases in the province were yet to be investigated by judicial staff. The girl should be released as soon as possible, she said.

Religious scholars, officials concerned and human rights watchdogs should conduct awareness programmes about women’s and children’s rights.

Initial investigations showed the girl had already had an abortion, which was also a crime, said Mohammad Ismael, a prosecutor at the appellant court. He added the girl’s brothers had sodomised the rapist, and that case was under investigation.

Shahr-i-Safa district chief, Khadi Khan, said the case was probed by prosecutors before being sent to the attorney office in the provincial capital.

myn/mud

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