Taliban Thugs Kill Senior Policewoman in Afghanistan

Malalai Kakar: KIA Kandahar

Bad news! The iconic police woman of Kandahar, long threatened by the murderous thugs of the Taliban, has been shot dead while driving from her house. The brutal discrimination against women in Afghanistan by extremists is well-documented, and The Guardian digs further into the past and states that women in Afghanistan have a long history of bravery despite persecution:

In recent decades, the first girl to make a name for herself by living up to the heroines of the past was a 16-year-old schoolgirl by the name of Nahid. In February 1980, Nahid led a demonstration of schoolgirls and female university students on the streets of Kabul. It was one of the very first public protests testing the loyalty of the communist regime's army and police force. Would the government shoot at unarmed schoolgirls and students? The answer, it turned out, was a firm yes. Soviet helicopters were soon heard hovering over the protesters, and shooting soon followed. Nahid fell immediately, and so did many of her companions.

Although the Taliban and other oppressive groups trying to establish a patriarchal society through a process of subordination, it's heartening to see women rising above the tyranny. Primarily, because worldwide human rights is worthy cause now that the information age has brought about easy methods to dispel ignorance. But, privately, I advocate for a more matriarchal societal structure so that me and my guy friends can wallow in irrelevant good times with blogging, drinking, and occasionally mowing the lawn while the women run the country and stay in charge of the family unit. A trip to see the Dockyard Derby Dames doing roller derby in Tacoma proved that strong females were still around at least in this country.

For more on Afghanistan, Anthony Cordesman has a thorough analysis of the problems and challenges there for NATO/ISAF.