Two intelligence officials shot dead in Afghanistan
An Afghan official says a gunman has opened fire on a vehicle in the capital, Kabul, killing two intelligence officials and wounding three others
An Afghan official says a gunman has opened fire on a vehicle in the capital, Kabul, killing two intelligence officials and wounding three others.
Afghan interior ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi says that police were searching for the gunman who carried out the attack early Monday. Police have sealed off the eastern District 9 area of Kabul as they search for the assailant, said Rahimi.
No group has immediately claimed responsibility for the assault, but both Taliban and an Daesh affiliate have carried out attacks in the capital.
The Taliban control or hold sway over nearly half of Afghanistan, staging near-daily attacks that target Afghan forces and government officials but also kill scores of civilians.
In the decade since launching a radio station in northern Afghanistan, Sediqa Sherzai has braved mines and rocket attacks as the Taliban seeks to silence her. But she has kept going.
Fawzia Koofi, the country’s first female deputy of the lower house of parliament, has survived assassination and kidnap attempts. Last year, she was banned from running for re-election — so she set up her own party.
Women have made huge strides in the conservative country since a ban during Taliban rule of 1996 to 2001 from school, work, politics and going outside without a male relative.
While growing numbers of women now complete education and work in previously male bastions, they continue to face harassment and hurdles, human rights activists say.
“Women are half the population, and should have the same rights and opportunities as men in this country,” said Sheila Qayumi, a programme coordinator at Equality for Peace and Democracy, which advocates for more women in politics.
“But women are still denied education, forced to marry young, kept from working, and treated no better than animals in the provinces,” she said.
Four decades of war, from occupation to internal fighting, have destroyed the economy, rendering it among the poorest in the world, with few jobs for a mostly young population.
Women occupy a particularly precarious place, as they face cultural barriers and hostility — not just from conservative family members, but also hardline hardliner groups — for pursuing financial independence and greater equality, Qayumi said.
Nearly half of Afghan women would rather leave their war-torn country permanently if they could, citing poverty and limited opportunities, according to a Gallup poll in September.
On her radio broadcasts in Kunduz, Sherzai discusses issues from education to independence, domestic violence, inheritance rights and women’s right to vote — and stand for elections.
Most women are not aware of their rights, or are too scared to exercise them, said Sherzai, whose staff are mostly women.
“My goal is to educate women on their rights, and open their minds,” she said, speaking through a translator.
“I want to convince families to let their daughters study, to not marry them off young, and to respect their choices.” Funding for the station is uncertain, and her family fears for her safety, but she has never thought about quitting, she said, even when she had to broadcast from home after the station was attacked and her equipment stolen.
“My dream is that Afghan women can be safe and free to do what they wish to do, without men stopping them,” Sherzai said in an interview on a visit to the capital.
She asked that her picture not be taken for safety reasons.
Across the country, efforts are underway to make public spaces safer and more open to women.
While Afghan women lag on many measures, a quota that reserves 68 of 250 seats in the lower house of parliament gives them a higher representation than the global average of 24%.
The quota makes it easier for women to enter politics, but they lack money and run greater security risks, said Koofi.
“Being a female politician is hard everywhere — we are scrutinised for our looks and our clothing, and we are not taken seriously,” she said in an interview in her office.