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Roger Godsiff condemns the flogging of a 17-year-old women by Taliban militants in the Swat Valley.

11 May 2009

Roger Godsiff joined with international human rights activists in condemning the flogging of a 17 year old women by Taliban militants in the Swat Valley. The flogging took place as a punishment, ordered by a Taliban Court, for the woman having, allegedly, had a sexual relationship with another man which was deemed illegal by the Taliban. The beating was filmed by the Taliban and released to television channels.

Said Roger “This barbaric assault, ordered by the Taliban, shows exactly what the Taliban is all about. They pose as so called ‘freedom fighters’ but in reality they are a bunch of self-appointed fanatics who are intent on imposing their own will on areas they control through a combination of fear and a perverted interpretation of what is written in the Koran. When they ruled Afghanistan they subjugated women to a second-class status; forced them to cover their bodies from head to toe and denied them the right to even basic education. The barbaric flogging of a 17 year old woman for an alleged ‘sexual crime’ confirms their contempt for the rights of women.

All civilised people should condemn this barbaric outrage and it should send a chilling message to those individuals, who act as apologists for the actions of the Taliban, of exactly what the Taliban stands for and what they would like to impose on anybody who is unfortunate enough to fall under their control.”