‘Fearless’ Afghan woman ex-lawmaker shot dead

KABUL: Gunmen shot dead an Afghan former lawmaker and one of her bodyguards in the capital Kabul in a night-time attack at her home, police said on Sunday. 

Mursal Nabizada had been a member of parliament in the US-backed government that was overthrown by the Taliban in August 2021. “Nabizada, along with one of her bodyguards, was shot dead at her house,” Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran said. “The security forces have started a serious investigation into the incident,” he said, adding that a brother of the former lawmaker was also wounded in the attack, which took place during the night between Saturday and Sunday.

Nabizada was a “fearless champion for Afghanistan”, former lawmaker Mariam Solaimankhil said on Twitter. “A true trailblazer -- strong, outspoken woman who stood for what she believed in, even in the face of danger,” she wrote. “Despite being offered the chance to leave Afghanistan, she chose to stay and fight for her people,” she added.

Nabizada, 32, hailed from the eastern province of Nangarhar, and had been elected as a member of parliament from Kabul in 2018. “I am sad and angry and want the world to know!” tweeted Hannah Neumann, a member of the European parliament, in response to the killing. “She was killed in darkness, but the Taliban build their system of gender apartheid in full daylight.”