KABUL - The Taliban has publicly executed a young unmarried couple in the southwestern province of Nimroz.

Confirming the incident, provincial governor Ghulam Dastageer Azad said couple was shot dead by extremists in front of a mosque after they were caught eloping.

“An unmarried young boy and an unmarried girl who loved each other and wanted to get married eloped because their families would not approve the marriage,” The News quoted Azad, as saying.

Terming the brutal incident an ‘insult to Islam’ he said local religious leaders had ordered a death sentence for the couple.

The incident once again brings to light the brutalities Afghan women are being subjected to in the country.

It is not only the extremists who treat women in the country as mere objects, but the government too seems to be backing the notion, as was evident from President Hamid Karzai’s controversial ‘rape law’.

The law, brought by President Karzai allowed Shiite men to demand sex from their wives every four days and keep them indoors indefinitely.

The law, which was leaked by an UN agency, stated that a Shiite woman must seek her husband’s permission to go outside which clearly subjugates the rights of women.

Facing severe international criticism over the issue, Karzai later ordered a review of the law saying he would send the bill back to parliament if it was found that women rights were being violated. (ANI)