Sitara Achakzai

Sitara Achakzai
Born	1956 (1956)
Died	12 April 2009(2009-04-12) (aged 51–52) Kandahar, Kandahar, Afghanistan
Cause of death	Assassination
Citizenship	Afghanistan Germany
Occupation	Activist

Sitara Achakzai (also transliterated Achaksai) (1956/1957 – 12 April 2009) was a leading Afghan women's rights activist and a member of the regional parliament in Kandahar. She was assassinated by the Taliban.^[1][2][3]

Achakzai is a name shared by one of the sub-tribes of Durrani clan, part of the Pashtun people, one of the largest ethnic groups of Afghanistan. She held dual citizenship of Afghanistan and Germany,^[4] and was well known in Canada as some of her extended family live in the Toronto area.^[5]

Death

Like Malalai Kakar and Safia Amajan, Sitara Achakzai was targeted by the Taliban because she was trying to improve the situation of Afghan women. At the age of 52, she was assassinated by Taliban gunmen in Kandahar on 12 April 2009.

The Canadian government condemned the assassination.^[6] Michaëlle Jean, the Governor General, said

We were equally distressed to learn of the assassination of Sitara Achakzai, a courageous and proud activist for the rights of her countrywomen, who was gunned down at point-blank range. The Taliban were quick to claim responsibility for this unprecedented violence, fiercely dedicated to hindering all efforts to further development and stability in Afghanistan.

Encomium

• "She was a warrior, she was a brave woman and she always fought for women's rights and the poor's rights; that's why they didn't like her ... [I]t's a loss for everybody; for democracy, basically, because she fought for everybody." (Ajmal Maiwand, nephew of Ms. Achakzai)^[7]

References

1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 17 June 2011. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
2. "Taliban claims responsibility for killing female politician in Kandahar". Archived from the original on 15 November 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
3. "Options d'achat – NewsPostOnline.com". www.newspostonline.com. Archived from the original on 26 July 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
4. Statement of Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul (German Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development) (in German)
5. "report of the Globe and Mail". Archived from the original on 17 April 2009. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
6. Afghanistan.gc.ca; Afghanistan.gc.ca (26 June 2013). "Afghanistan.gc.ca". Retrieved 8 May 2017.
7. "Globe and Mail report on Sitara Achakzai's murder". Archived from the original on 17 April 2009. Retrieved 8 May 2017.

External links

• Notice of Achakzai's murder (in French)
• Notice of Achakzai's murder (in German)
• CBC report on Sitara Achakzai
• Report on Sitara Achakzai
• Globe and Mail report on Sitara Achakzai
• The Star report on Sitara Achakzai
• The Huffington Post: "Sitara Achakzai, Martyr for Muslim Women"
• about the live of Sitara Achakzai in Germany and Afghanistan (in German)
• "Let Women be Enlightened" by Helen Irving in the Sydney Morning Herald