Sitara Achakzai (also transliterated Achaksai) (1956/1957 – 12 April 2009) was a leading

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 Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

activist and a member of the regional parliament 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 ...

. She was assassinated by the

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

. " Achakzai" is a name shared by one of the sub-tribes of

Durrani The Durrānī ( ps, دراني, ), formerly known as Abdālī (), are one of the largest tribes of Pashtuns. Their traditional homeland is in southern Afghanistan (Loy Kandahar region), straddling into Toba Achakzai in Balochistan, Pakistan, but ...

clan, part of the

Pashtun people Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...

, one of the largest ethnic groups of Afghanistan. She held dual citizenship between

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, and was well known in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

as some of her extended family live in the

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

area.

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. Michaëlle Jean, the Governor General, said

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 ... 's a loss for everybody; for democracy, basically, because she fought for everybody."'' (Ajmal Maiwand, nephew of Ms. Achakzai)

References

External links

Notice of Achakzai's murder

CBC report on Sitara Achakzai

''Globe and Mail'' report on Sitara Achakzai

''The Star'' report on Sitara Achakzai
* ttps://www.welt.de/politik/article3556150/Fanatische-Taliban-toeten-Deutsch-Afghanin.html about the live of Sitara Achakzai in Germany and Afghanistan
"Let Women be Enlightened" by Helen Irving
in the ''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper i ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Achakzai, Sitara 1950s births 2009 deaths Afghan feminists Deaths by firearm in Afghanistan German people of Afghan descent Proponents of Islamic feminism People from Kandahar People killed by the Taliban People murdered in Afghanistan Violence against women in Afghanistan Assassinated Afghan politicians Naturalized citizens of Germany 21st-century Afghan women politicians 21st-century Afghan politicians Asian politicians assassinated in the 2000s Politicians assassinated in 2009