In March 2015, 27-year-old Farkhunda Malikzada was at a shrine in Kabul, Afghanistan when she got into an argument with a man. Farkhunda was a deeply pious Muslim who had planned on going to school for theology, so when she encountered a man improperly using the holy site to sell amulets, condoms, and Viagra, she was indignant and confronted him over it. In retaliation, he loudly accused her of blasphemy and of burning the Qur’an.

None questioned whether there was any veracity to this false allegation, perhaps believing that a woman’s word was meaningless next to a man’s. As soon as it became heard that Farkhunda had burned the Qur’an, a mob formed almost immediately.

Farkhunda was murdered in one of the most horrific recorded instances of mob “justice” in recent history. She was beaten to the ground with wooden planks and kicked while she was down, and many police officers looked on and did nothing. At one point, two police officers managed to hoist her to safety on a rooftop, but she fell back down onto the street where the mob continued to brutalize her. They dragged her into the street and ran her over with a car. They carried her down to a dry riverbed filled with garbage, lit her on fire, and tossed her onto the heap. Scenes of her murder were recorded on several devices and posted to social media, where they circulated widely.

"People were saying, ‘If someone doesn’t hit her, he is an infidel.’ That was when I got emotional and hit her twice." - Mohammad Yaqoub, aged 17 at the time of the murder

An investigation into the incident concluded very quickly that Farkhunda had never burned a Qur’an, but measured deliberation could be no match for the impassioned zealotry of a mob, or Farkhunda would still be alive. Nonetheless, the public reaction to the event was overwhelming in its outrage at and condemnation of the killers. Massive demonstrations took place. Afghan women in particular spoke out over the senseless murder, defying Islamic custom to attend Farkhunda’s funeral and carry her casket.

Although attempts at justice were made, much of the public considered them insufficient. Dozens of people were arrested and tried over the murder—participants for their acts, police officers for their failure to act. But some participants had their sentences commuted in appeals courts, most of the police officers were given light sentences, and many of the attackers, identifiable from the footage that circulated, were not charged at all.