In Memory of a Courageous Woman

Malalay Kakar was murdered this Sunday.

I hardly ever write about matters not related somehow to Jaffa. But Malalay (aged 41 at the time of her death) was special. 

She was Afghanistan's highest ranking police woman, in charge of the department dealing with crimes against women.

Crimes against women are common, everywhere. But to stand up against them in Afghanistan you need a lot of courage.To act against the perpetrators you need more than that. 

Malalay was courageous. She was threatened many times, yet she kept on fighting for what she believed in, for women, for victims of violence. 

May her meory be blessed.

“By your side I am beautiful with my mouth extended and my open arms

And you, like a coward

you let yourself be rocked by slumber.”

From: Songs of Love and War: Afghan Women's Poetry

Sayd Bahodine Majrouh, editor