Days after the Taliban took over Afghanistan, Salima Mazari, one of the few female district governors in the country, is believed to have been captured. Reports quoting her supporters also suggest that she could soon be executed. As the militants took over the country at an alarming pace over the last fortnight, Mazari had gained prominence after taking up against against the Taliban.
"There will be no place for women. In the provinces controlled by the Taliban, no women exist there anymore, not even in the cities. They are all imprisoned in their homes," Mazari told news agency AP in an interview from Mazar-e-Sharif last week, before it fell. She had recruited hundreds of men to fight against the Taliban, with many having to sell their cows, sheep and even their land to purchase weapons.
The fall of of Mazar-e-Sharif, the country's fourth largest city, which Afghan forces and two powerful former warlords had pledged to defend, had incidentally handed the insurgents control over all of northern Afghanistan. But soon after her fears about a Taliban takeover were realised, reports suggest that she has since been arrested.
Mazari is also a member of the Hazara community -- most of whom are Shia Muslims, who the Sunni Taliban consider a heretical sect. As per reports quoting her supporters, her execution could be intended as a message by the Taliban, to deter any others who might wish to offer up resistance. There has however been no official update about the same.
Meanwhile, the celebration of Afghanistan's Independence Day on today, is pitting the Taliban, the new rulers of Kabul against young patriots, who are proud to anchor their national identity with their country's flag. The rift between the Taliban and the young brigade ignited after the Taliban tried to replace the Afghan national flag, traced to King Amanullah, with their own.
High octane emotions quickly flared leading to a free-for-all between the two. Injuries and deaths followed.
