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KABUL, Afghanistan - The provincial head of the Women's Affairs Ministry in Kandahar was gunned down in front of her house Monday morning as she was leaving for work, officials said.
Safia Ahmed-jan, who was about 65, was known as "amma jan" or "dear aunt" by many in the troubled southern city of Kandahar and is the first female official killed by Taliban-led insurgents since the fall of the harsh regime in late 2001. Gunmen riding motorcycles, the usual mode of transportation of the Taliban, shot her four times - once in the head - said Mohammad Nader, the head nurse at Kandahar's main hospital. No one was arrested.
"The enemies of Afghanistan did this, the ones who do not want peace in Afghanistan," said Zemeri Bashary, spokesman for the Interior Ministry. "They don't even hesitate to kill women."
Iraqi-style terror tactics now are being used by insurgents, who in recent months have mounted their biggest challenge to the U.S.-backed government since the Taliban fled. In recent weeks, insurgents have stepped up suicide attacks on international troops and killed the governor of Paktia province.
Kandahar, the one-time headquarters of the Taliban, has been particularly hard hit. On Friday, insurgents attacked a bus carrying construction workers here, killing 19 of them.
The attack Monday morning seemed to indicate the resolve of insurgents to continue anti-government attacks through the holy month of Ramadan, which started Saturday. It also showed that women are not immune from attack. Under the Taliban, most women were not allowed to work or leave the house without a male escort.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the killing of Ahmed-Jan while on a visit to Washington. "The enemies of Afghanistan are trying to kill those people who are working for the peace and prosperity of Afghanistan," he said in a statement.
Ahmed-Jan, a longtime advocate for women, joined the women's ministry just after the fall of the Taliban. Her husband was paralyzed, and she needed to work. In her spare time, she read the Koran at a funeral home for women to earn extra money, said Daud Ahmadi, the spokesman for the Kandahar governor.
"She had so many economical problems at her house," Ahmadi said. "I don't know how her husband will make a living."
As an older woman in Kandahar, she never wore a burqa, instead wearing a large head scarf over her hair. She lived without fear, showing her face in this conservative city and doing her own shopping in the local markets.
"She did not have personal enmity with anyone," Ahmadi said. "She was such a kind woman. She was a teacher."
Her secretary, Abdullah Khan, told The Associated Press that one of Ahmed-jan's most successful projects was running trade schools. In Kandahar, Ahmed-jan opened six schools that taught almost 1,000 women how to bake and sell their goods. She also opened tailoring schools for women.
"She was always trying her best to improve education for women," he said.
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(c) 2006, Chicago Tribune. Distributed by Mclatchy-Tribune News Service.
