Shocking revelations were made by Taliban's former spokesman Saeed Khosty's wife, who exposed the atrocities of the senior Haqqani official in a viral video. Taliban's oppression against women is not hidden from the world. Afghanistan is to mark one year since the Taliban takeover last August, with basic women's rights suppressed, media freedom curtailed and large swathes of the country plunged into poverty.
No country has recognised the Taliban's de facto government and women have taken to the streets in Afghanistan to denounce the restrictions on their rights to education, work and freedom of movement. While the Taliban has violated and abused the rights of Afghan women and girls, its top leadership is living by the same principles.
In a shocking video, which has since gone viral on social media, an Afghani woman who identified herself as the wife of Saeed Khosty has exposed the Haqqani official's atrocities in the most heartbreaking manner. Elaha Delawarzai, in the video, claimed Khosty forced her to marry him, which was only the beginning of her troubles.
Elaha was subjected to inhumane treatment. The young woman claimed she was raped every night over and over again, beaten mercilessly, tortured and abused. At one point, when she tried to flee, she was arrested at Torkham border crossing and forced to kiss Khosty's feet.
In March, Khosty had tortured and beaten Elaha to the extent that she had to be hospitalised. She wasn't even allowed to speak to the media.
In the latest video, Elaha is seen pleading. By risking to share the video, she is sure to be killed at the hands of Khosty. But she says: "it is better to die once than to die every time."
Watch the video shared by Elaha below:
Shocking! A senior Haqqani official first raped & married to, daughter of ex, NDS official. ‘Said Khosti beat me a lot. Every night he raped me. These may be my last words. He will kill me, but it is better to die once than to die every time, Elaya says.
— Tajuden Soroush (@TajudenSoroush) August 30, 2022
pic.twitter.com/FZ0lD3wprG
The video has been shared widely on Twitter, drawing strong criticism and immediate action considering the sensitivity of the issue.
"This woman is dependent on each and every person that sees this. If something happens to her, we all should feel ashamed because we failed as humans to protect her," wrote one user.
"Don't believe for a second This is an isolated incident. The Taliban abduct unmarried women f/ their homes at gun point & force marry them off . This brave woman is risking her life making this video," another user wrote.
"The fact that I'm not surprised by this utterly disgusting, inhumane,& hideous crime committed by this monster is sickening! Women have always been on Taliban's radar. They enslave & objectify women. First, they took their right to education,& now they're normalizing rape," said another.
