Afghan Teens Face Death for Illicit Love: Should Someone Intervene to Save Them?
SodaHead News
2011/08/01 23:00:00
|
|
|||||
|
192 votes
|
|
65% | |||
|
48 votes
|
|
16% | |||
|
55 votes
|
|
19% | |||
From Herat, Afghanistan, comes the tale of two 17-year-olds, whose love story may end as tragically as Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet."
This pair of "star-crossed lovers" met and fell in love while working at the local ice cream factory. After a year of hiding their relationship, the couple decided to drive to the courthouse and get married.
But it was not to be.
The couple's secret romance defied dominant traditions of arranged marriages and close family scrutiny. Furthermore, Rafi Mohammed, a young Tajik man, and Halima Mohammedi, a young Hazara woman, came from different ethnic groups.
On their way to the courthouse, a group of men spotted the couple, yanked them into the road, and began to interrogate them about their right to be together. An angry mob of 300 quickly surged, accusing the couple of adultery and demanding their deaths by stoning or hanging.
The couple was rescued by security forces, but the riot continued for hours, leaving one man dead and the local police station charred.
Mohammed and Mohammedi, now confined to juvenile prison, are in the hands of the Afghan legal system, but they may have more to fear from their own families.
The parents of the teenagers are calling for the government to kill them both, and say that if they do not, they will kill their children upon release, in order to restore honor to their families.
Fortunately, after discussing the case, the provincial council decided that the teens deserve the government’s protection, due to the fact that neither was engaged and because each said they wanted to get married.
Yet, Mohammed and Mohammedi have not been freed or provided with any kind of long-term security.
To further complicate matters, the family of the man killed in the riot says Mohammedi is to blame. And how can she make things right? Marry one of our other sons they say, and your debt will be repaid.
What do you think? Should someone intervene to save this pair of "star-crossed lovers"?
This pair of "star-crossed lovers" met and fell in love while working at the local ice cream factory. After a year of hiding their relationship, the couple decided to drive to the courthouse and get married.
But it was not to be.
The couple's secret romance defied dominant traditions of arranged marriages and close family scrutiny. Furthermore, Rafi Mohammed, a young Tajik man, and Halima Mohammedi, a young Hazara woman, came from different ethnic groups.
On their way to the courthouse, a group of men spotted the couple, yanked them into the road, and began to interrogate them about their right to be together. An angry mob of 300 quickly surged, accusing the couple of adultery and demanding their deaths by stoning or hanging.
The couple was rescued by security forces, but the riot continued for hours, leaving one man dead and the local police station charred.
Mohammed and Mohammedi, now confined to juvenile prison, are in the hands of the Afghan legal system, but they may have more to fear from their own families.
The parents of the teenagers are calling for the government to kill them both, and say that if they do not, they will kill their children upon release, in order to restore honor to their families.
Fortunately, after discussing the case, the provincial council decided that the teens deserve the government’s protection, due to the fact that neither was engaged and because each said they wanted to get married.
Yet, Mohammed and Mohammedi have not been freed or provided with any kind of long-term security.
To further complicate matters, the family of the man killed in the riot says Mohammedi is to blame. And how can she make things right? Marry one of our other sons they say, and your debt will be repaid.
What do you think? Should someone intervene to save this pair of "star-crossed lovers"?
Read More: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/31/world/asia/31her...
Top Opinion
-
Undecided
+15I don't really understand WHO is going to be doing the saving here. Yes, the Afghan government should save them. No, the American government should not get involved in any way. I've said it before, and I'll sure as hell say it again, I sure am glad I'm not from Afghanistan, or any of those messed up countries in the middle east. There's no doubt that this case is very much tragic. Two people that love each other are potentially facing death for it. Their own families want them dead. That crap is not "honor" killings, it's just murder. How does murdering your own child make you an honorable character? I try to be as tolerant as possible, but sometimes, certain cultures are just completely fu*ked up!
No one is going to save these two.
Yet another demonstration of their barbaric culture.
But fundamentalist Islam is NOT all Islam, any more than fundamentalist Christianity is all Christianity. I would also remind you of the Reconstructionist Christian movement, also called Dominionist Christianity - a branch of fundamental Christianity - which even wants the same thing as fundamentalist Islam - the death of the unbeliever, of homosexuals, and so forth. Rule of the secular state by the religion, etc.
It is fundamentalism that is the enemy of humanity, decency and morality -- it is just that at this point in time, the Muslim fundamentalists are the most powerful within any of the major faith communities.
Regards,
Reyn
Whatever happened in the case of the Iranian who was sentenced to be stoned to death for committing adultery? Does anybody know?
After all, the honor killings, suicide bombers, fatwas and jihads are aberrations as we are all told so there must be millions of true believers that will stop this travesty of justice and protect them from their family's code of honor.
Just because this happens in Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Sudan, Libya, Kuwait, and every other Muslim Country just means the people living there don't understand the Koran like the American's do. But, if it is the truth, there must be at least a few true believers that will stand against their fellow Muslim and save these kids.
THIS IS A MATTER FOR THE PEOPLE OF AGHANISTAN.
certainly for the court system of afghanistan. if we are going to get out of a "free" afghanistan we must let them stand on thier own. Haven't we meddled enough in this country and iraq for that matter.
this form of punishment is part of the edict of thier religion. Who should that someone be but one of thier own. are we that politically correct were as we now start "fixing" religions.
at 17 both should have known the consiquences of thier actions.and had they arrived at
courthouse would the couple even been married?