By Rukhshana Media
A 50-year-old woman has been shot dead by unidentified gunmen in the capital of Badghis province Qala-e-Naw, the local Taliban administration said.
Sediqullah Seddiqi, the Taliban police spokesman of Badghis, told reporters the shooting happened on Thursday March 16 and the victim’s body was discovered in District One of Qala-e-Naw.
Mr Seddiqi did not provide details about the victim’s identity or a motive, but he said that efforts are underway to arrest the perpetrators.
According to some local sources, the victim was an employee of the previous government and was killed after being kidnapped by unknown men who were armed.
In a separate shooting incident earlier in the week, some media networks have reported a girl killed herself by gunshot on her wedding day in northern Parwan province.
Media reports said the girl, Zoofanun, shot herself during her wedding ceremony on Sunday March 12, saying it was an arranged marriage that she had not agreed to, in Torwij area of Parwan’s Shaikh Ali district.
However, local Taliban police spokesman Kamran Zaid told reporters the girl died of a heart attack.
Reports of murders and suicides of girls and women have been increasing in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover in August 2021.
The Taliban’s introduction of severe restrictions on the lives of girls and women as well as the removal of groups that defend women’s rights are considered to be key drivers in these deaths.
