Safia Amajan

Safia Amajan (1941–25 September 2006), also spelt Ama-jan, Ama Jan, Ahmed-jan and Ahmed Jan, was an Afghan women's rights activist, educator, politician, and critic of the Taliban's suppression of women, who was shot and killed in 2006, reportedly by the Taliban.^[1]

Life

Amajan worked as teacher and principal in Kandahar prior to the rise of the Taliban in 1996.^[2] During the subsequent Taliban regime, during which all girls' schools were closed, Amajan secretly taught girls at her home.^[3]

Following the defeat of the Taliban in 2001, Amajan served as the provincial director for the Ministry of Women's Affairs' office in Kandahar Province, a role she held from 2002 until her death. During her tenure, Amajan opened multiple vocational colleges, training hundreds of women in trades including baking and tailoring.^[2]

Death

On 25 September 2006, Amajan was shot four times and killed in front of her home in Kandahar by two men on a motorcycle.^[4][1] Amajan had previously asked the Afghan government to provide her with personal bodyguards in light of death threats from Taliban-led insurgents, but her request had been rejected.^[5][1] Amajan's murder was condemned by Hamid Karzai, then-President of Afghanistan, and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.^[2] Following her death, an alleged Taliban spokesperson stated Amajan's death had been in response to her working for the government.^[6]

Amajan was survived by her son, Naqibullah.^[2][5]

References and notes

1. "Afghan women's official shot dead". 2006-09-25. Retrieved 2021-04-24.
2. "Afghan women's rights official shot dead". Wikinews. 2006-09-26.^{[unreliable source?]}
3. "Taliban kill top Afghan woman" The Guardian
4. "Afghan women's official shot dead". BBC NEWS. 25 September 2006. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
5. Coleman, Isobel (2010). Paradise beneath her feet: how women are transforming the Middle East (1st ed.). New York: Random House. ISBN 978-1-4000-6695-7. OCLC 436030258.
6. "Senior Afghan women's affairs official killed - Afghanistan". ReliefWeb. Retrieved 2021-04-24.

External links

• International Herald Tribune, 25 September 2006: Gunmen kill director of women's affairs for southern Afghanistan