Conservatism in Afghanistan
by David Atkins
Conservatism. It's the same the world over:
A senior advocate for women in Afghanistan was shot dead by unknown gunmen Monday, officials said, the latest assassination of a women’s rights activist in the country.
Two assailants riding a motorbike gunned down Najia Seddiqi as she was heading to her office in eastern Laghman province, said Helai Nekzad, the chief of information at the Ministry of Women’s Affairs in Kabul.
Seddiqi was the head of women’s affairs for Laghman province. Her predecessor in that post was killed five months ago when explosives hidden in her car were detonated.
“We have launched an investigation to find out whether Najia Seddiqi’s killing was politically motivated,” Nekzad said.
President Hamid Karzai described the assassination as “terroristic,” a term he often uses to describe attacks by Taliban-led insurgents or al-Qaeda militants. No group or individual has made any claim of responsibility.
The Taliban has yet to comment on the shooting, which comes a week after a teenage girl, volunteering in an anti-polio drive, was fatally shot northeast of Kabul. Officials have said that they do not think the girl’s death was politically motivated.
These big, tough men are really afraid of empowered women, aren't they? It's the same conservative impulse worldwide.
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