Arifa Bibi Stoned To Death In Pakistan For Possessing A Cell Phone

A young mother of two has been put to death in Pakistan for possessing a cell phone.

Arifa Bibi was sentenced to death by stoning by a Pakistani tribal court, and was executed on July 11 at the hands of her family. Her uncle, cousins and other family members threw stones at the woman until she died, all because she had a mobile phone. She was buried in the desert far away from her home village, andaccording to reports, her family was not permitted to be involved in her funeral.

Stoning has been a common sentence in countries like Pakistan for a long time and is used against women and other vulnerable groups. Since the stoning of Arifa Bibi this summer, women’s rights groups have launched an even stronger campaign to put a ban on stoning.

Naureen Shameem, representative for women’s rights group Women Living Under Muslim Laws, says that stoning is used against women in particular as a way to control them.

More