One of the first and youngest female mayors in Afghanistan, Zarifa Ghafari, said the Taliban “will come for people like me,” anticipating the militant group will try to kill her after successfully overtaking the country’s government.
The 27-year-old official became Afghanistan’s youngest mayor, as well as the first female to hold office in Maidan Shar, when she was selected for the role in 2018 by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, who fled the country Sunday as the Taliban rolled in to take over Kabul, the capital city.
“I’m sitting here waiting for them to come. There is no one to help me or my family. I’m just sitting with them and my husband. And they will come for people like me and kill me,” Ghafari, the mayor of Maidan Shar, told the British outlet i on Aug. 15. “I can’t leave my family. And, anyway, where would I go?”
In the weeks before the Taliban set forth to conquer Kabul on Sunday, Ghafari said she was optimistic about the future of Afghanistan.
“I think there is a future for this country,” she said at the time.
TALIBAN DECLARE ‘AMNESTY’ FOR AFGHANS AND URGE WOMEN TO JOIN GOVERNMENT
“Younger people are aware of what’s happening. They have social media. They communicate. I think they will continue fighting for progress and our rights. I think there is a future for this country,” Ghafari said just weeks before the Taliban insurgency in Kabul.
The Taliban declared a general “amnesty” for all in Afghanistan on Tuesday and began urging women to join the government following the takeover of the country, an official with the group said.
Women in Afghanistan have raised concerns about their future and safety under the Taliban government, which stripped them of many basic rights when it last governed the country. Many residents have fearfully remained at home after the Taliban insurgency resulted in prison breaks and looted armories.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban’s chief spokesman, has rejected concerns that women and dissident residents will be mistreated under the militant group’s government, promising that those who disagree with the new government won’t be persecuted.
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“We have given amnesty to everybody. There is no revenge,” Mujahid said during a press conference Tuesday, and he mentioned that there would be no retribution for Afghans who worked with the United States, saying, “There is no danger for them.”
