WUNRN
AFGHANISTAN - TRAGIC ATTACKS ON
NOTABLE WOMEN BY INSURGENTS IN AFGHANISTAN
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http://www.afghanistantimes.af/news_details.php?id=3681&&cid=1
AFGHAN MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT INJURED & DAUGHTER KILLED IN ATTACK
AFGHANISTAN - INDIA AUTHOR ABOUT TALIBAN,MARRIED TO AFGHAN, KILLED BY
TERRORISTS IN AFGHANISTAN
Sushmita Banerjee, who was married to an Afghan businessman, was killed outside her home in Paktika province.
September
5, 2013 - Indian author Sushmita Banerjee, who wrote
a memoir about her escape from the Taliban, has been shot dead in
Sushmita Banerjee, who was married to an Afghan businessman, was killed outside
her home in Paktika province.
Indian officials who are waiting for the Afghan government to formally announce
the author's killing confirmed that Indian
author Sushmita Banerjee was shot
dead at 11 pm on Wednesday night. Her family performed her last rites on
Thursday morning. Banerjee had just returned to
Banerjee's memoir, 'A Kabuliwala's Bengali Wife', recounted her life in
The 49-year-old author had recently moved back to
A senior police official told news reporters that the Indian author, who was
known to the locals as Sayed Kamala, was working as a health worker in the
province and had been filming the lives of local women as part of her work.
This irked militants who have been carrying out attacks against women in the
region.
Police said Taliban militants arrived at her home in the provincial capital,
Kharana, tied up her husband and other members of the family, took Banerjee out
and shot her. They dumped her body near a religious school, police added. No
group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
Heather Barr, a researcher with the
Human Rights Watch in
The attacks against women have spiralled in the past few months. A female
Afghan member of parliament was abducted while she was traveling with her children
last month. This was first time a female MP was abducted by insurgents and
showed how prominent women being targeted in the country.
Some orthodox Muslim groups are advocating against women working outside the
home and building independent careers for their own safety. Gunmen shot dead
one of the country's most high-profile female police officers in July. A former
woman Afghan MP also recently sought asylum in the
The empowering of women is often held as one of the great successes of the Nato coalition. With the withdrawal
of the International Security Assistance Force looming in 2014, it seems
women's rights have taken many steps backwards.
Human rights groups say that a string of laws passed recently by Afghan
parliament will expose women to more abuse. The orthodox camp in
As Nato troops prepare to leave