January 22, 2021

Why terrorise Afghanistan’s educated female cadre?

topic:	Women's rights
located:	Afghanistan
editor:	Shadi Khan Saif

The dreadful string of targeted assassinations of female Afghan professionals pose grim threats to their much-needed emancipation in public spheres in the war-riddled country. 

As one of the most cherished accomplishments of the nascent Afghan democracy, many women and girls got the rare chance of better education and health after the fall of the hardline Taliban regime. This helped nurture a generation of young men and women who take the charge of their country and improve the lives of their fellow citizens. 

However, with the fragile peace parley lingering parallel to the escalated wave of violence, this generation is finding itself caught in the crossfire. 

The presumably safe capital, Kabul, has seen over the weekend two female judges killed in cold blood. The car carrying them was sprayed upon with bullets from close range with an evident purpose of spreading terror and eventually driving this generation out of the public sight.

It sent across a shockwave and further traumatised female professionals in the already troubled city, where the war-weary residents from every corner of the country are sheltering.  

With no claim of responsibility for the killing of female civil society activists, judges and journalists, the Afghan government is pointing fingers at the Taliban. This serious charge by a party to the conflict (the government) against the opposite side (the insurgents) binds the other to come up with a counter argument or at least a strong rebuttal. The lack of it gives weight to the allegations.     

One wonders what it would take for them to come to terms with the new realities of Afghanistan and accept women and girls as equal stakeholders in the future of the land. 

Is it even possible to build a state of some sort or indeed a viable society without the emancipation of women and girls? 

With literally no females as part of their peace delegation involved in negotiations with the Afghan government representatives, the Taliban have already demonstrated their lack of regard to this pivotal matter of nation building.

In the case of a likely peace deal, would it be possible for them to earn the support and backing of the society by silencing such voices through crude use of force and terror during the ongoing negotiations?   

And, let’s not forget, most of the women and girls working at various positions in the Afghan government come from war-riddled regions, and are often the sole bread-earners of their families. As per the official figures, there are more than 500,000 widows in Afghanistan, most of them war-widows.

One really wonders - what do the terrorists want by attacking Afghanistan’s educated female cadre?

Image by UNAMA News.

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