Safia Amajan (1941-25 September 2006), also spelt Ama-jan, Ama Jan, Ahmed-jan and Ahmed Jan, was an

Afghan Afghan may refer to: *Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia *Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity ** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...

women's rights

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, and critic of the Taliban's suppression of women. Amajan worked as teacher and principal in

Kandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a List of cities in Afghanistan, city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population ...

prior to the rise of the Taliban in 1996. During the subsequent Taliban regime, during which all girls' schools were closed, Amajan secretly taught girls in her home. 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 Kandahār ( ps, ; Kandahār, prs, ; ''Qandahār'') is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the southern part of the country, sharing a border with Pakistan, to the south. It is surrounded by Helmand in the west, Uruzgan ...

, a role she held from 2002 until her death. During her tenure, Amajan opened multiple vocational colleagues, training hundreds of women in trades including baking and tailoring. On 25 September 2006, Amajan was shot four times and killed in front of her home in Kandahar by two men on a motorcycle. Amajan had previously asked the

Afghan government The government of Afghanistan, officially called the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is the central government of Afghanistan, a unitary state. Under the leadership of the Taliban, the government is a theocracy and an emirate with political powe ...

to provide her with personal bodyguards in light of death threats from Taliban-led insurgents, but her request had been rejected. Amajan's murder was condemned by

Hamid Karzai Hamid Karzai (; Pashto/ fa, حامد کرزی, , ; born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan statesman who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from July 2002 to September 2014, including as the first elected president of the Islamic Repub ...

, then- President of Afghanistan, and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. Following her death, an alleged Taliban spokesperson stated Amajan's death had been in response to her working for the government. Amajan was survived by her son, Naqibullah.

References and notes

External links

''International Herald Tribune,'' 25 September 2006: Gunmen kill director of women's affairs for southern Afghanistan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmed-Jan, Safia 1941 births 2006 deaths Afghan murder victims Assassinated activists 20th-century Afghan educators Afghan feminists Deaths by firearm in Afghanistan People murdered in Afghanistan Pashtun women Violence against women in Afghanistan Afghan women activists