Woman beheaded in Afghanistan for going shopping without her husband

A woman has reportedly been beheaded in Afghanistan after she went out alone without her husband.

The woman was attacked by a group of armed men in the remote village of Latti in Sar-e-Pul province, which is under Taliban control.

Provincial Governor spokesman Zabiullah Amani told the Nation that the 30-year-old woman had gone to the market in the city to do some shopping.

She was targeted in the horrifying incident because she went out alone without her husband, who is currently in Iran. The couple are not thought to have children.

Nasima Arzoo, head of the women's affairs department for the area confirmed the incident saying: "The woman was beheaded with a bayonet attached to an AK-47 after an argument with Taliban in her remote village, which is part of the provincial capital."

The Taliban have denied any involvement in the incident and no arrests have been made Fox News reported.

After coming to power, the Taliban declared that women were prohibited from working and forbidden from leaving their homes unless accompanied by a close male relative. They must also always wear the burqa, the traditional head-to-toe covering.

Despite the country having introduced strict laws to prevent atrocities against women, brutalities committed by insurgents continue to take place. There have been a recent spate of killings of women who have been deemed to have defied Taliban rule. Earlier in December, five female Afghan guards working in the airport in southern Kandahar were killed by unknown gunmen as they were on their way to work.

Samim Khpulwak, spokesman for the governor of Kandahar, said the five women were in charge of searching female travelers at the Kandahar airport, and had been hired by a private security company.

In 2015, dozens of Afghan men took to the streets of Kabul wearing burqas in a protest against violations of women's rights in the country.