‘Fearless’ Afghan woman ex-lawmaker shot dead at home in 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. It is the first time a lawmaker from the previous administration has been killed in the city since the takeover.

"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.

Local police chief Molvi Hamidullah said Nabizada and her guard were shot dead around 3am on Saturday in the same room. He said her brother and a second security guard were injured. A third security guard fled the scene with money and jewellery.

She died on the first floor of her home, which she used as her office. Khalid said investigations are underway. He did not answer questions about possible motives.

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.

"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."

Women had worked in prominent positions across Afghan society in the two decades since the US-led invasion of Afghanistan, with many becoming judges, journalists and politicians.

Many women in such professions have fled the country, however, since the Taliban returned to power.

Abdullah Abdullah, who was a top official in Afghanistan's former Western-backed government, said he was saddened by Nabizada's death and hoped the perpetrators would be punished. He described her as a "representative and servant of the people.”

A former Kandahar parliamentarian, Malalai Ishaqzai, also offered her condolences.

Nabizada, 32, hailed from the eastern province of Nangarhar, and had been elected as a member of parliament from Kabul in 2018. She was a member of the parliamentary defense commission and worked at a private non-governmental group, the Institute for Human Resources Development and Research.