Afghan woman shot and blinded for working ‘outside the house’

A 33-year-old Afghan policewoman was left blind after gunmen attacked her in Ghazni for “working”, police confirmed. 

Khatera said the last thing she saw was three men on a motorcycle who then shot at her and stabbed her in the eyes with a knife. 

Speaking to Reuters, Khatera said when she woke up in hospital everything was dark. 

“I asked the doctors, why I can’t see anything? They told me that my eyes are still bandaged because of the wounds. But at that moment, I knew my eyes had been taken from me,” she said.

Both Khatera and local authorities blame the incident on Taliban insurgents who they say were following a tip-off from her father – who was vehemently opposed to her working outside the home. 

Khatera had only worked for the Ghazni police in the crime branch for a few months but had always dreamed of having a career, Reuters reported. 

“I wish I had served in police at least a year. If this had happened to me after that, it would have been less painful. It happened too soon … I only got to work and live my dream for three months,” she told Reuters.

Rights activists have said the attack on Khatera is indicative of a growing trend against women having jobs. 

Khatera said she had tried to convince her father to let her work outside the home for years – but to no avail. Eventually, Khatera’s husband agreed to allow her to join the police force. 

But, according to Reuters, her father continued to oppose the idea. 

Khatera’s dream as a child was to work outside the home and after years of trying to convince her father, to no avail, she was able to find support from her husband.

But her father, she said, did not give up on his opposition.

“Many times, as I went to duty, I saw my father following me … he started contacting the Taliban in the nearby area and asked them to prevent me from going to my job,” she said.

She said that he provided the Taliban with a copy of her ID card to prove she worked for police and that he had called her throughout the day she was attacked, asking for her location.

Ghazni’s police spokesman confirmed they believed the Taliban were behind the attack and that Khatera’s father had been taken into custody. Reuters was unable to reach him directly for comment.

A Taliban spokesman meanwhile told Reuters it was a family matter and they were not involved.

Khatera and her family, including five children, are now in hiding in Kabul.