A pregnant 14-year-old was tortured and set on fire by her in-laws because her father had eloped with a young woman from their family.

Grieving father Mohammad Azam visited Afghanistan's capital Kabul on Monday in a quest for justice over her daughter Zarah's murder.

He said the killing was an act of revenge after the 45-year-old had run away with a young cousin of his daughter's husband when the family had agreed to sell her for more money.

Grieving father Mohammad Azam visited Afghanistan's capital Kabul on Monday in a quest for justice over her daughter Zarah's murder

This latest murder, in the remote area of central Ghor province, is the latest reported case of violence against women in the country.

Afghanistan faces serious human rights issues, including physical and sexual violence against women and so-called honor killings that often involve immolation.

Zarah was set on fire last week and died in a Kabul burns hospital on Saturday.

The in-laws had struck a marriage deal Azam, he said, letting him marry the cousin in payment for a debt they owed him for construction work.

But they later reneged on the deal, he said, after promising the cousin to another man for more money.

He said the killing was an act of revenge after the 45-year-old had run away with a young cousin of his daughter's husband when the family had agreed to sell her for more money

Azam said he had no hope for justice in lawless Ghor.

'The culprits should be brought to justice, my daughter's blood must not go in vain,' he said.

The practice of baad - trading young women to pay debts - is illegal in Afghanistan, and Azam himself could face prosecution for engaging in the practice.

While Ghor province has often been the source of reports of young women being abused by their families or stoned to death after being accused of adultery or running away from home, such incidents occur also elsewhere in the country.

This latest murder, in the remote area of central Ghor province, is the latest reported case of violence against women in the country

While Ghor province has often been the source of reports of young women being abused by their families or stoned to death after being accused of adultery or running away from home, such incidents occur also elsewhere in the country

About 50 people, including Azam, members of his family and women's rights activists, rallied on Monday in western Kabul, calling for justice

About 50 people, including Azam, members of his family and women's rights activists, rallied on Monday in western Kabul, calling for justice.

Women's rights activist Veeda Saghari, who attended the demonstration, said violence against women is largely ignored by Afghanistan's judicial sector.

'That is why all kinds of violence against women such as acid throwing, beating, stoning, informal community tribunal verdicts, burning, forced divorces, forced marriages, forced pregnancies, forced abortions have reached a peak,' she said.

Last year in Kabul, 29-year-old Farkhunda Malikzada was beaten to death by a mob after being falsely accused by a peddler at a mosque of burning a Quran, the Muslim holy book.

It later emerged that she had been telling him to stop selling amulets to women who came to pray for pregnancy.