An Afghan woman published a video message alleging that she was forced to marry Qari Saeed Khosty, the former spokesperson of the Taliban's interior ministry. According to the woman, she was forced into this marriage in February 2022 at the Taliban intelligence directorate.
The woman in the video clip claimed that her father was a former general, who had served at the National Directorate of Security, the former Afghan government’s intelligence agency.
She said that she has been a victim of sexual assault and has been beaten up several times over the past year.
Another video clip published on social media shows Qari Saeed Khosty inside the woman’s house. The woman has a shovel in her hand, and asked Khosty to leave her house.
In another video clip, it seems that the woman had been admitted to a hospital due to injuries and her loud cries could be heard.
The woman in the clip also said that she was a university student at the medical faculty, but is now kept in an apartment in Gulbahar Center, in the heart of Kabul and is not allowed to leave the complex buildings.
Gulbahar center is a shopping mall and apartment complex which is located in District 1 of Kabul and is in close proximity of the Taliban’s intelligence headquarters.
In the video clip, the woman pleaded to be rescued, although she informs that after the message, she might be dead by the time the video is released.
According to her, in the past year, she always been beaten up and raped by Khosty.
The woman stressed that she tried to escape from Afghanistan several times to save herself, but was detained escape by the Taliban officials at the Torkham border crossing with Pakistan.
She also stated that after her arrest, the Taliban renewed her marriage with Qari Saeed Khosty.
Although it is not clear when the message was recorded, it seems that this video was recorded after the removal of Khosty as the spokesperson of the Taliban's Ministry of Interior.
In the past year, many reports of Taliban commanders and members marrying for the second and third time have surfaced on social media in Afghanistan.
Forced marriage and child marriage is a common practice among the Taliban, and members of the group have been accused of forced marriages across Afghanistan.
