[news] In search of freedom, Afghan wives make a grisly choice

[Resist!ca]

HERAT, Afghanistan -- Zahara Mohamedi decided she couldn't take it anymore. Last year, when she was 18, her family sold her for the equivalent of about $1,200 into a forced marriage with a man she had never met. She moved from the city to a village, where her new husband never allowed her to leave the house. She was treated as little more than a servant, taking orders from her in-laws -- even from an 11-year-old girl. Eight months ago, Mohamedi poured cooking oil over her head and chest and announced that she was going to set herself on fire. Her in-laws dared her to. They beat her and held her. She broke free and lit a match, immediately engulfing her face and upper body in flames.

URL: http://resist.ca/story/2004/11/5/5393/02164