Mother Who Claims to Have Killed 10 Taliban Militants Becomes National Hero in Afghanistan

When a woman in Afghanistan’s western province of Farah lost her son to a Taliban attack on a police checkpoint earlier this week, she took matters — and an AK-47 — into her own hands. Having all but destroyed the Taliban detachment with round upon round of machine gun fire, the woman is now being hailed as a “symbol of courage” on Afghan social networks

On Monday 24 November, Afghanistan’s Tolo News reported that an Afghan mother, aided by her family members, had killed a slew of militants and injured several others after watching her policeman son die when the Taliban launched a surprise assault on the police checkpoint near where she lives.

There is some confusion over how many Taliban Rezagul personally shot dead. RFER/L’s Afghan Service reported the figure as ten, also citing Rezagul. It is probable the larger number credited to her in Afghan outlets and the Daily Mail refers to the total number of militants that died in the shootout as a whole.

Ever since the news was reported, Afghan social media networks have been flooded with praise for Rezagul.

Gender relations are highly politicised in Afghanistan, but Rezagul’s assault on the Taliban appears to have pleased both conservatives that conceive of women mainly as bearers of family honour, and advocates of gender equality, who see her actions as a powerful disproof of the traditional notion that women are weaker than men.

Read more: globalvoicesonline.org – Written by Sahar Hashimzada