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| Afghan MP Shukria Barakzai (right) is a member of IPU's Committee on Peace and International Security. ©IPU |
The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) has today condemned the attack on Afghan woman MP Shukria Barakzai on 16th November and once again urged authorities in the country to do more to ensure the voices of women political leaders are not extinguished or intimidated.
Although Barakzai, a high-profile women’s rights activist and parliamentarian, survived the suicide bomb attack in Kabul, three people were killed and many more reportedly injured.
Barakzai, also a member of IPU’s Standing Committee on Peace and International Security, is the latest Afghan woman MP to be targeted in recent years.
Earlier this year, fellow MP Mariam Koofi was wounded in an attack when leaving her office whilst her MP sister Fawzia, also a prominent women’s rights activist, was similarly attacked in 2010. In 2013, Senator Rooh Gul Hirzad lost her daughter in an attack on her car, and MP Fariba Ahmadi Kakar was kidnapped and held for several weeks before her release was eventually secured.
IPU is calling for authorities to ensure every effort is taken to protect women MPs from such attacks. The Organization is increasingly concerned by a growing trend of violence against women in politics across the world and argues strongly for follow-up action to find the perpetrators.
Impunity not only violates MPs’ basic rights to life, security and freedom of expression, but also undermines their ability to represent their constituents effectively and to tackle the many issues Afghanistan is facing.
Women currently make up more than 27 per cent of parliamentarians in Afghanistan. Many of them are strong advocates for women’s rights on all issues, including health, education and employment.
IPU’s Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians, which works to redress human rights abuses against MPs around the world, is examining cases involving Afghan MPs who have been victims of repeated attacks and intimidation.
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