Farkhunda Malikzada was a 27-year-old Afghan woman who was attacked and killed by a mob in Kabul on March 19, 2015 due to a rumor that she had burned a page of the Quran.  Footage of the attack was captured on cell phone videos by onlookers and the attackers themselves, with the footage then being compiled and published by the New York Times.

[Note: May 30, 2021—  I had originally posted this video on the NOITV video channel, although it was flagged for a copyright violation, so I linked to the official New York Times version, but eventually they took that offline.  I have found this current version on BitChute.]

The following is from Wikipedia:

Farkhunda Malikzada was a 27-year-old Afghan woman who was publicly slain and beaten by a mob in Kabul on March 19, 2015.  A large crowd formed in the streets around Farkhunda when accusers began yelling, announcing her alleged crimes to the public.  They claimed that she had burned the Quran, and for that, her accusers announced that she must pay the ultimate price.

Police initially tried to protect Farkhunda and disperse the crowd, but were overwhelmed by the mob’s numbers and fury.

The mob grabbed Farkhunda, pulled her hair, hit her, spit at her, pushed her to the ground, stomped on her body, kicked her in the head, and ripped the veil from her face.  Police, seeing the urgency of the situation, attempted to remove her from the crowds by climbing atop a shop roof.  Farkhunda was then bashed by someone wielding a large wooden pole while other people from the crowd threw sticks and planks on her.  She slipped down the rooftop and back into the crowd as the person with the wooden pole kept beating her with his weapon.

She was brutally and mercilessly beaten into unconsciousness.  The crowd then dragged her motionless body into the street and ran her over with a car, dragging her some 300 feet.  They then stoned her, set her corpse on fire and watched her body burn.  They used their own clothing articles (e.g. scarves and hats) to keep the fire alight because her own clothing and body were so bloodied that they would not catch fire.

She was murdered after allegedly arguing with a mullah who falsely accused her of burning the Quran.  Police investigations revealed that she had not burned anything.  Her murder led to 49 arrests; three adult men received twenty-year prison sentences, eight other adult males received sixteen year sentences, a minor received a ten-year sentence, and eleven police officers received one-year prison terms for failing to protect Farkhunda.  Her murder and the subsequent protests served to draw attention to women’s rights in Afghanistan.  Six months after her murder women began to build a memorial at the site of her death.  It was unveiled on the anniversary of the crime.

Farkhunda was an observant Muslim who wore a veil (hijab).  At the time of the attack, she had just finished a degree in religious studies and was preparing to take a teaching post.  Her name means “auspicious” and “jubilation.”

Farkhunda had previously been arguing with a mullah named Zainuddin, in front of a mosque where she worked as a religious teacher, about his practice of selling charms at the Shah-Do Shamshira Mosque, the Shrine of the King of Two Swords, a religious shrine in Kabul.  During this argument, Zainuddin reportedly accused her of burning the Quran.  She responded:

“I am a Muslim, and Muslims do not burn the Quran!”

Hundreds of angry civilians flocked to the shrine upon overhearing the mullah’s accusation.  Police arrived and attempted to lead Farkhunda to a local precinct building one mile away, but she refused, asking for a female police officer to accompany her.  The mob was able to drag Farkhunda away into the street where they knocked her to the ground and began beating and kicking her.  More police arrived, firing warning shots into the air and temporarily dispersing the crowd.  They moved her into the shrine in an attempt to shield her.  As the crowd grew in size and rumors that she was working with Americans began circulating, the mob attempted to storm the shrine’s walls.  Police hoisted her onto the roof of the building in an escape attempt, but Farkhunda slipped and fell into the crowd.

The mob dragged Farkhunda into the street and savagely beat and stomped her.  She was bludgeoned with sticks and rocks outside the mosque, then placed into the road and run over with a car, dragging her body 300 feet.  Police offered no resistance, and directed traffic around the scene.  The mob then dragged her body to the nearby bank of the Kabul River, took turns stoning her and set her on fire; her body was soaked in blood and would not burn, so the crowd ripped off articles of their own clothing to ignite and maintain the fire.

Farkhunda’s parents said the killing was instigated by the mullah Farkhunda had been speaking to.  According to Tolo News he loudly accused her of burning the Quran “in order to save his job and life.”   An eyewitness said that the mob was chanting anti-American and anti-democratic slogans while beating Farkhunda.  The mob was captured on video accusing of her of working with Americans, and of being a French embassy worker.