Editorials

Ms. Shukria Barakzai is a parliamentarian and a women’s rights activist in Afghanistan. After she was beaten on the streets of Kabul by the Taliban militants for being outdoors without a man, she began fighting for women’s rights. She founded Aina-E-Zan (“Women’s Mirror”), a national weekly newspaper which informs women in Afghanistan about recent developments in health care, education and civil society. Mr. Barakzai is an outspoken critic of child marriages, forced marriages and domestic violence towards women. In 2003 she was appointed a member of loya jirga, a representative body convened to discuss the constitution of Afghanistan. In 2004 she was elected to the Lower House of the Afghanistan Parliament. Her outstanding public service has also received recognition outside Afghanistan. She was named the International Editor of the Year by the World Press Review in 2004 and a Woman of the Year by the BBC radio program Woman’s Hour.