2 female Supreme Court judges killed in fresh targeted killing in Afghanistan

Kabul, Jan 17 (efe-epa).- Two female judges of the Supreme Court of Afghanistan were killed and their driver was wounded on Sunday in Kabul, after two armed motorcyclists opened fire on their car, marking the latest incident in a series of targeted killings in the country and the second one this week.

The incident occurred around 8.30 am in Taimani area of Police District-10 when the government employees were on their way to office from home, police spokesperson Firdaws Faramarz told EFE.

“Two female judges of the Supreme Court were martyred today morning and their driver was injured in today’s incident,” Supreme Court spokesperson Ahmad Fahim Qaeem confirmed to EFE.

A security official, who asked not to be named, told EFE that the attack was perpetrated by armed men on motorcycles.

Like other institutions in the country, judicial bodies have made special efforts in recent years to increase the number of female employees and judges, as the number of women are extremely low compared to the number of men.

Although these attempts have shown a little result in Kabul and in other major cities, most judicial bodies in less developed provinces and remote districts so far have no women holding positions as judges or even working there.

The attack on the female judges comes as the country has been witnessing for months a series of unprecedented targeted attacks on journalists, activists, politicians and intellectuals in Afghanistan, where shootings or bombings on victims’ vehicles have become an almost daily reality.

Targeted killings and violence has increased significantly after the Taliban signed an agreement with the United States almost a year ago that pledged to reduce violence and major attacks.

Although the government has directly blamed the Taliban for the killings, the insurgent group has repeatedly denied its involvement in the attacks, and has directly blamed Afghan security forces for carrying them out to fabricate negative propaganda against them.

The attacks appear to be taking on a new form in recent weeks, as most of the victims have been female officials, who were otherwise rarely targeted over the last one year.

Earlier this week, at least three female Army officers were shot dead and two others, were wounded by unidentified armed individuals in Balkh province in the north of the country. EFE-EPA

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