Afghan man tortures pregnant wife, mutilates her genitals to abort unborn child

Takhar, Afghanistan: In a horrifying incident, a man in Afghanistan has been accused of allegedly torturing his six-month pregnant wife and eventually mutilating her genitals leading to an unnatural abortion.

According to reports, the accused, identified as Sarbaland, with the help of his mother and sister, attacked his 21-year-old heavily-pregnant wife and fled from the scene.

Soon after the attack, the victim was admitted to a nearby hospital in Kunduz province. Medics said that the victim was lucky to be alive after the savage attack.

In her statement to the police, the victim's mother said that the accused had called her up to inform her that he had tortured her daughter.

"I have killed your daughter... come and take her," the accused was quoted as saying by the victim's mother.

Describing the moment of horror, the victim told the police that her husband and in-laws tied her with a rope before beating her senseless with a wooden stick. The accused cut her hair with a pair of scissors and shaved a part of her head.

Condemning the brutal incident, the head of Takhar's Woman Affairs department said that the victim had lost her unborn child in the attack.

"Gynaecologists are overseeing her treatment; their examinations show that the infant has also been lost due to... violence," one of the doctors said.

Police are investigating the matter and are on the lookout for the accused who is on the run.

Last week, a 14-year-old pregnant Afghan girl succumbed to her injuries in Kabul’s Isteqlal hospital after she was set on fire by her in-laws.

Afghanistan faces serious human rights issues, including physical and sexual violence against women and so-called honor killings that often involve immolation.