Nikbakht is a 50 year-old-woman who spent half her life locked up in a dark, filthy room by her brothers. But thanks to the proverbial ‘nosey neighbors’ she was finally rescued and is now recovering in hospital.
Neighbors said their children had been playing at the house in Chahar Qala Qazir Abad in Kabul when they found out about her. The children told their parents the woman was “mentally ill” but living in extreme filth.
One neighbor, Khadim Hussain Hosseini, said his sons had been playing at the house and when they came home they told him about the mentally ill woman.
“When the boys came from the house, they said there is a mentally ill person over there. We went and looked at her closely and realized that she was not a mental person but was captive and we then reported it to officials in the area,” he said.
Nikbakht was rescued last week after reportedly being held captive by her brothers for 25 long years. The brothers had meanwhile told neighbors that they had transferred a mentally ill member of their family to their home province.
“Her brothers were not in good contact with us. They were saying that there is a mental person and we have transferred her to our home in the village,” Hosseini said.
However, Taliban police followed up on the report and found Nikbakht locked up inside the small, dark room that was filled with years worth of filth. She was also severely malnourished.
She was immediately taken to Wazir Akbar Khan hospital where she is still receiving treatment.
Roya Behzad, a doctor at the hospital, said that Nikbakht is showing signs of improvement.
“When she came here on the first day, she was not in good health and couldn’t talk but now her condition has improved and she can talk, eat and drink,” Behzad said.
Nikbakht’s brother said she had come to live with him after leaving her husband many years ago.
According to the neighbors, one of her brothers, Ghulam Sakhi, has sought to punish her after she left her husband, and decided to hold her captive.
The Taliban police said last week that one brother and at least three of the woman’s nephews have been arrested.
Over a period of 20 years, with foreign troops in the country, the international community spent millions of dollars through the previous government and various organizations in support of women in the country.
Enormous gains were achieved by women, who played a significant role in society, in politics and in the economy. However, all those gains have been eradicated in just two years under Taliban rule and today, women remain an extremely vulnerable section of society.
