A young Afghan woman burns herself alive because the Taliban wanted to force her into marriage.

BarcelonaA 20-year-old Afghan woman named Abida reportedly committed suicide last Sunday by burning herself alive in the central province of Ghor to avoid being forced into a marriage by the Taliban to her brother, according to local Afghan media reports. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, has demanded an investigation into the events and that accountability be taken, he wrote on the social network X.

The girl doused herself with gasoline and set herself on fire, leaving her body completely engulfed in flames, and nothing could be done to save her life. She died from her serious injuries.

Local Taliban commander Mohamed Rahmani intended to forcefully marry her to his brother, claiming that her family had betrothed her to him when she was only two years old. In Afghanistan, some families betroth their daughters when they are still young, but a relative from Abida has denied that any such agreement had been reached.

Last Sunday, the Taliban commander stormed the girl's home and arrested her father and brother. "They were taken to a nearby mosque and beaten," the relative explained. Afterward, about 20 armed men surrounded the house, and the Taliban commander's brother attempted to capture the girl. "There was no escape," the man added in a statement to Amu TV, referring to the young woman.

The Taliban authorities have not commented on the case, although it has sparked widespread outrage. Several women's movements have launched a social media campaign under the slogan "I am the voice of Abida," demanding justice and an international investigation into Taliban abuses.

For its part, the Committee of Human Rights Defenders in Afghanistan stated that the young woman's suicide is "a manifestation of the systematic violence against women" by the Taliban regime and highlights the impunity with which its members act.