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Farkhunda Malikzada was a 27-year-old Afghan woman, an observant Muslim and a religious scholar. She wanted to find a husband and start a family, but she dreamed of becoming a judge.
On March 19, 2015 she was accused by a mullah of burning the Quran. She responded "I am a Muslim, and Muslims do not burn the Quran!" Yet, hundreds of angry civilians flocked to the shrine upon overhearing the mullah's accusation. She was accused of working with Americans, and of being a French embassy worker. She was subsequently publicly beaten by the mob and slain - stoned, bludgeoned, dragged and burnt. The Deputy Minister for Culture and Information approved the execution of a woman "working for the infidels."
Farkhunda's death shook modern Afghans as well as the international community. Her death has become a rallying point for women's rights activists in Afghanistan and the world over. Thousands of people have protested the attack in Kabul and actors re-enacted the attack during a protest in what Afghan observers called an unprecedented case of a public theatrical performance commemorating a woman's death. Women and men marched through Kabul, chanting "We are all Farkhunda!"
The team behind INFIDEL wants to shine the light on Farkhunda's life & death, and the plight of women like her all around the world. Farkhunda's story highlights, among other things, a pervasive atmosphere of misogyny in Afghan society and many other societies around the world.
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