WUNRN
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-31489949
Afghanistan – Woman Provincial Politician Targeted & Killed by Bomb Attack – Women’s Rights Activist
Ms Shinwari was targeted in a bomb
attack last week
16
February 2015 - Afghan officials have been paying tribute to a prominent female
politician who died on Sunday following a bomb attack.
Angeza
Shinwari, a provincial councillor in eastern Nangarhar province, was an
outspoken campaigner for women's rights.
President
Ashraf Ghani called her death a "great loss".
Female
politicians, professionals and activists are regularly targeted in Afghanistan.
"Angeza
Shinwari was not just a woman, but voice of hundreds of thousands of women who
are living out there with no voice heard and no opinions stated," tweeted
Javid Faisal, the spokesman for Afghanistan's chief executive Abdullah
Abdullah.
No-one
has claimed responsibility for the attack on Ms Shinwari and no-one has been
arrested.
She
was badly injured in Nangarhar's provincial capital of Jalalabad last Tuesday
when a bomb attached to her car exploded.
Her
driver was killed and four others were injured.
Ms
Shinwari was transferred to hospital in Kabul for treatment, but died around
midnight on Sunday.
Zabihullah
Zmaray, a fellow provincial council member, told the BBC that Ms Shinwari's
injuries had been severe:
"She
lost both her legs in the explosion and it's because of that that she lost a
lot of blood," he said.
Brave voice
Ms
Shinwari, who was in her early 30s, studied literature at Nangarhar university
and worked as a teacher and a radio journalist before going into politics.
She
was elected for a second term on the Nangarhar council only last year.
The
BBC's reporter in Jalalabad, Babrak Miakhel, says she was regarded as a brave
voice in the province and was a frequent presence at public gatherings of men
and women where she spoke with confidence.
Ms
Shinwari campaigned for women's rights, human rights and justice.
She
spoke out against the phenomenon of 'opium brides' - the practice by some
impoverished poppy farmers of selling female relatives to settle disputes or
debts.
Her
activism brought her enemies locally, Babrak Miakhel reports.
Ms
Shinwari was also active on social media where friends and followers have been
posting tributes.
The
former director of the Afghan Women's Network, Samira Hamidi tweeted, "This
is alarming all working women!".