Mursal Nabizada

Mursal Nabizada (; – 15 January 2023) was an Afghan politician, women's rights activist, lawmaker and critic of the Taliban who served as a Member of the House of the People from Kabul. Nabizada was killed in Kabul in January 2023 by the Taliban.

Career

Nabizada was elected to the House of the People, the lower chamber of the National Assembly, to represent Kabul in the 2018 Afghan parliamentary election. She was elected as a Parliamentary Defense Commissioner in the Wolesi Jirga where she received a total of 1,396 votes. The inaugural session of the term was held on 29 June 2019. She served in the National Assembly until the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, and was one of the few female members of parliament who stayed in Kabul after the takeover.

Outside parliament, she worked for the Institute for Human Resources Development and Research.

In December 2022 the Taliban issued a statute denying women access to participate in public spheres of work such as non-governmental organizations, university matriculation, and were barred from being employed. Nabizada was a strong critic of the gender apartheid in Afghanistan and was an advocate against the forced marriage of women and girls.

Personal life

Nabizada was born in Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan in the Arzaan Qemat neighborhood of District 12. Nabizada received her bachelor's degree from Balkh University in Northern Afghanistan.

Death

At around 3:00 am on 15 January 2023, Nabizada was shot to death on the first floor of her home in Kabul, She was 32. Another security guard fled with money and jewelry. The Taliban targeted former members of the National Resistance Front and opposition figures in Parliament who supported the intervention of the United States in Afghanistan where Mursal Nabizada's and six hundred others were murdered. Mariam Solaimankhil stated, "a true trailblazer – a strong, outspoken woman who stood for what she believed in, even in the face of danger. Despite being offered the chance to leave Afghanistan, she chose to stay and fight for her people." "According to the complainant [filed by the IPU for the violations of human rights], Nabizada had previously expressed concerns to fellow members of parliament living in exile in Afghanistan that she had been repeatedly threatened and harassed by an unidentified senior intelligence official from the Taliban Ministry of Interior Affairs. The official reportedly told her that he intended to coerce her into marriage. Nabizada claimed she refused to give in to those threats of forced marriage." She was an advocate against the forced marriage of women and girls, her work mainly addressed the gender apartheid in Afghanistan.

Investigation Police officers Khalid Zadran and Police Chief Molvi Hamidullah Khalid were the officials in charge of the investigation of Nabizada's death. However, Antonio Gutierre a secretary general for the United Nations, made a statement arguing that the Taliban is acting with complete impunity towards women and suggests seeking an independent investigation. A statement was released by the UK Parliament regarding Nabizada's death stating they, "strongly condemn the actions of their killers." In this statement, the UK Parliament would like to create a plan to help other women escape Afghanistan safely. This statement was signed by a total of 17 UK Parliament members.