Afghanistan: Police Free Child Bride From Bathroom Prison

Afghan police officers have rescued a teenage girl who was beaten and locked up in a toilet for more than five months.

France Press news agency reports that Pari Gul, 15, was found locked in a room without windows in her husband's house after her parents reported her missing. She reportedly refused her husband's request to become a prostitute.

"She was beaten, her fingernails were removed and her arm was broken," district police chief Fazel Rahman said.

Gul was married when she was only 14, although Afghan laws set the marriage age for girls at 16. According to reports, three women, including the girl's mother in-law, had been arrested in connection with the case.

"The 15-year-old girl was brought to hospital with severe shock," said Pul-i-Khurmeri hospital chief Dr Gul Mohammad Wardak.

"She had injuries to her legs and face and the nails on her left hand had been removed."

The officials said Gul was locked away about two months after the wedding. The girl said the torture began immediately after she was married. During this time, her parents were unable to contact her.

Sahar Gul was married to her husband seven months ago in the neighbouring province of Badakhshan, but she was brought to Baghlan to live with her husband, said Rahima Zareefi, the provincial head of women affairs.

The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission recorded 1026 cases of violence against women in the second quarter of 2011 compared with 2700 cases for the whole of 2010.