My Country or My Son

Four months ago, an Afghan teenager was kidnapped on the road between Kandahar and Kabul. Mustafa's crime was his mother’s job: Malalai Ishaq Zai was the only female member of parliament for Kandahar, the deeply conservative southern Afghan city with strong Taliban links.

Since her election in 2002, Malalai has been repeatedly threatened by the re-emerging group. In many ways she was a direct affront to their radicalized beliefs: she did not wear the omnipresent burqa (her election posters showing her face shocked the city), and she stood up for women’s rights and education. Yet she was also a devout Muslim and mother of seven.

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Posted by Lauren Keaneon February 21, 2008 12:15 PM