A former female Member of Parliament, Mursal Nabizada, and her bodyguard were shot dead by unknown assailants in her home. This is the first time an MP from the previous administration has been killed in the city since the Taliban’s takeover.
The shooting happened around 3 AM on Sunday, according to the local police chief Molvi Hamidullah Khalid. She died on the first floor of her house which was her office. Her brother and another security guard were also injured in the attack. A third security guard fled the scene with money and jewellery. Khalid said that investigations are underway. Till now, no arrests have been made and the investigations are continuing.
Nabizada, 32, was from the eastern province of Nangarhar and was elected as a Member of Parliament from Kabul in 2018. She was a member of the Parliamentary Defence Commission and worked at the Institute of Human Development and Research. She was among the few female lawmakers who had stayed back in Afghanistan when the Taliban returned to power in 2021.
Former lawmaker Mariam Solaimankhil said Ms. Nabizada was “a true trailblazer- a strong, outspoken woman who stood for what she believed in, even in the face of danger. Despite being offered the chance to leave Afghanistan, she chose to stay and fight for her people.” She said that her legacy will live on.
Hannah Neumann, a member of the European Parliament, said: “I am sad and angry and want the world to know!” in response to the killing. “She was killed in darkness, but the Taliban build their system of gender apartheid in full daylight.” The former Kandahar parliamentarian Malalai Ishaqzai also offered her condolences.
Abdullah Abdullah, a former top official in Afghanistan’s former Western-backed government, said he was saddened by Ms. Nabizada’s death and hoped the perpetrators would be punished. He described her as a “representative and servant of the people”.
Many women who had prominent professional jobs have fled the country since the Taliban takeover. Women in the country have been banned from educational institutions and workplaces.
The Taliban had said that they were focused on securing the country and encouraging Afghans to return, but several such attacks have taken place in the past few months. A recent attack on the Ministry of External Affairs left many killed and wounded. Another person was killed in a suicide bomb attack near the Kabul office of the Hezb-e-Islami party. Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a former Prime Minister of the country was inside.
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