Thursday July 31, 2014
MOGADISHU: Militants in Somalia have shot dead a woman for refusing to wear a veil, her relatives said yesterday.
Ruqiya Farah Yarow was killed outside her hut near the southern town of Hosingow by gunmen belonging to the Al Shabab group, they said.The militants had ordered her to put on a veil, and then killed her after returning and finding she was still not wearing one, the relatives said.
An Al Shabab spokesman denied the group had killed the woman.
Al Shabab does not fully control the area where she was living, he added.
Relatives, who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisals, said that Yarow was shot twice and died instantly.
She is survived by her husband and children, they said. Al Shabab, which controls much of southern and central Somalia, imposes strict rules of behaviour, including dress codes for men and women. It is also possible that Al Shabab wants to distance itself from the shooting because it is likely to provoke a strong public reaction, experts said.