A 15-year-old Afghan girl has died after she was allegedly set upon by two men, who hacked her head part-way off, because she rejected a marriage proposal.
CNN reported that police in Kunduz province have arrested two men for the knife murder of the teen, Gaiseena.
Amanuddin Quraishi, chief of Imam Sahib district, told the broadcaster one of the suspects had proposed to the girl but she had rejected him.
She died moments from her home, having left to collect water for her family.
The BBC reported that it had been the girl's father who rejected the marriage proposal. It is not known whether either of the accused were family members.
"Our investigation shows those who killed her were people who wanted to marry her," police told the BBC.
The father had not wanted his daughter to get married because she was "too young to be engaged", the Pajhwok news agency reported.
The brutal attack comes as the Afghan government announced it would take part in the '16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence' from the United Nations, which began on November 25.
The Nato-led International Security Assistance Force Commander General John Allen said in a statement that the force would be supporting the government in "creating better and safer lives for Afghan women - more opportunities for Afghan girls to attend school safely, and more opportunities in business, government and education for Afghan women."
Earlier this year, Michelle Bachelet, executive director of UN Women, expressed concern about the "extreme abuse and appalling violence against women" in Afghanistan.
"Such brutality is intolerable and UN Women calls upon the Afghan government to act with urgency to respond to these crimes, bringing the perpetrators to justice, and to end a culture of impunity and create a culture of zero tolerance of violence and discrimination against women and girls."
Just three weeks ago, in the same province, the brother of a Kunduz MP was arrested for allegedly hanging his wife for a "family violation".
And in January, a young Afghan woman Storai, gave birth to a third daughter, despite her family demanding a son, and was murdered by her husband and mother-in-law, strangled with a rope, according to the New York Times.