An Afghan senior woman police
officer was shot by unidentified gunmen on a motorcycle outside police
headquarters in Lashkar Gah in the Helmand
province. Lieutenant Negar was shot in the neck and died in hospital the next
day from her injuries. Lt. Negar who was recently interviewed by the New York
Times, loved her job and felt it was important that more women join the police
force. She served as a sub-inspector in the police criminal investigation
department in Helmand. The province of Helmand
has been plagued by Taliban insurgents.
Omar Zawak, the spokesman for the
governor of Helmand described the assailants of Lt. Negar as “enemies of Afghanistan.”
The BBC’s David Lyon also stated that “Afghan troops and police are
increasingly bearing the load as British and American troops withdraw their
forces.” Javid Faisal, the Kandahar
government spokesman described Lt. Negar as the “most important woman in Helmand province.”
She is the 3rd senior
policewoman to be killed this year. Her predecessor, Islam Bibi was also killed
in Helmand in July. In 2008, Lt-Col. Malalai
Kakar, Afghanistan’s most
prominent policewoman was gunned down in Kandahar.
She was Kandahar’s
head of department for crimes against women.
There has been a string of attacks
on Afghan women in positions of power and authority. There was the prolific kidnapping of a female MP
and the convoy of a female senator was ambushed resulting in the death of her 8
year old daughter.
Afghanistan's
Independent Human Rights Commission says general violence against women has
increased sharply over the last two years.
