A young woman has been stoned to death for adultery in a Taliban-controlled area of Afghanistan, while the man was let off with a lashing, officials say.

The execution, captured on video, went viral on social media. The authorities identified the woman as Rokhsahana, adding she was between 19 and 21 years old. A video of the incident shows a woman standing in a hole, while turbaned men throw stones at her head.

the clocks go back
a poppy seller
becomes the dark

The woman is heard repeating the shahada, or Muslim profession of faith, while her executioners shout “Allah hu Akbar. “The video first made rounds on social networks on late Monday, but the officials believe that the execution happened several days earlier, in the area controlled by the Taliban just outside Ghor’s capital Firozkoh. Rokhsahana was stoned by a gathering of “Taliban, local religious leaders and armed warlords…”

autumn mist
the spider web drips
a skylark’s song

For Rokhsahana in memoriam

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Note: ‘clocks turned back’ refers to the annual return to British winter time. ‘poppy seller’ refers to people selling poppies on the street, door to door, to raise money for the royal British Legion prior to Remembrance Sunday on the 11th of this month.

Sheila Windsor