Safia Amajan (1941–25 September 2006), also spelt Ama-jan, Ama Jan, Ahmed-jan and Ahmed Jan, was an Afghan women's rights activist, educator, politician, and critic of the Taliban's suppression of women.[1]

Amajan worked as teacher and principal in Kandahar prior to the rise of the Taliban in 1996.[2] During the subsequent Taliban regime, during which all girls' schools were closed, Amajan secretly taught girls in her home.[3]

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, 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.[2]

On 25 September 2006, Amajan was shot four times and killed in front of her home in Kandahar by two men on a motorcycle.[4][1] Amajan had previously asked the Afghan government to provide her with personal bodyguards in light of death threats from Taliban-led insurgents, but her request had been rejected.[5][1] Amajan's murder was condemned by Hamid Karzai, then-President of Afghanistan, and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.[2] Following her death, an alleged Taliban spokesperson stated Amajan's death had been in response to her working for the government.[6]

Amajan was survived by her son, Naqibullah.[2][5]

References and notes

  1. 1 2 3 "Afghan women's official shot dead". 2006-09-25. Retrieved 2021-04-24.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Wikinews contributors (2006-09-26). "Afghan women's rights official shot dead". Wikinews. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  3. ↑ "Taliban kill top Afghan woman" The Guardian
  4. ↑ (BBC)
  5. 1 2 Coleman, Isobel (2010). Paradise beneath her feet: how women are transforming the Middle East (1st ed.). New York: Random House. ISBN 978-1-4000-6695-7. OCLC 436030258.
  6. ↑ "Senior Afghan women's affairs official killed - Afghanistan". ReliefWeb. Retrieved 2021-04-24.
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