June 4, 2021, Kabul - A reporter for Ariana News, Mina Khairi was murdered on Thursday evening in Kabul. Ariana News confirmed her death this morning. Khairi died alongside her mother in an IED blast. She is the fourth Afghan journalist to be killed this year, raising alarm on the dangers the Afghan journalist community, specially women journalists, are being forced to confront. 

Mina Kheiri, Journalist and media worker for Ariana Radio and Television was murdered at seven in the evening in Kabul at Pul-e-Sokhta area of Kabul PD6, according to the police. Her mother reportedly died in the same attack, and her sister sustained serious injuries for which she is being medically treated. According to a source at Ariana News, the family was out shopping when the incident took place. The motives behind the attack are yet to be known. Mina Kheiri is the fourth Afghan woman journalist to be murdered this year. Several women journalists in Afghanistan have also been forced to scale back operations due to the threats they have faced to their well-being.

We spoke to Sofiea Sakhi about the incident. Sakhi is a former employee of Ariana News and had worked with Mina Kheiri during her time there. “Mina was my colleague she was a good, and talented girl, always trying to present political shows,” Sakhi says, remembering her time with Kheiri. “I left my country and I came to France to save my life, but yesterday I heard about this bad news and I’m in shock,” she added, shedding light on the situation in Afghanistan.

Another journalist located in the country who wishes to stay anonymous said that Kheiri was not particularly targeted in the attack. The IED attack was meant as an attack on the general public, to which Kheiri became a victim. “The violence towards journalists has accelerated since US forces announced their withdrawal from Afghanistan. The reasons are clear. Nowadays in Afghanistan nobody is safe because of the general unrest in the country and most of our achievements and values we earned in the last 20 years are in danger,” the journalist said. 

When asked if women journalists are particularly at risk, the journalist responded that they are at “big risk”.

Twenty years after the initiation of the War on Terror, as President Joe Biden announces the withdrawal of American troops from the region, Afghanistan remains one of the most dangerous places for women journalists to operate. Attacks have only accelerated following the agreement between the US state and the leadership of the Afghan Taliban, with several women journalists being murdered in broad daylight by rogue extremist militant wings.

In March this year, three women journalists were killed in broad daylight in Jalalabad. Mursal Wahidi, Sadia Sadat, and Shahnaz Roafi, who were also working with Enikass Radio and TV, were targeted in two different attacks on March 2 2021. According to reports, attackers shot Saadat and Raofi who were on their way home. Later, at a different location Wahidi was shot as well. While the law enforcement agencies took a suspect in custody, they did not give out an official statement at the time. On the other hand, the Islamic State terror group’s regional affiliate, IS Khorasan Province, claimed responsibility for the attack. Loved ones admit that they do not believe that the law enforcement agencies in the country would be able to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Women journalists have also been on the receiving end of threats by militant organizations resulting in either them leaving the country or downsizing their work. Farahnaz Forotan is a political presenter who relocated to France after repeated threats to her security. Fatemeh Hashim, chief editor of Khaama Press also left the country, citing that Kabul is a city of terror for journalists. Nazifa Mahbobi who worked for Radio Free Europe from Afghanistan was forced to go into hiding after an attack on her home. Photojournalist Mariam Alimi who has been active since 2006, is also currently seeking asylum due to the risks she faces in Afghanistan. 

Those left behind continue to face severe danger and sinister attempts to silence them. Fatima Roshanian, an editor for the feminist magazine Nimorkh Weekly, had to resort to working from her home after she was identified by militant networks in the country. Roshanian’s name appeared on a “kill list” that was circulated on social media, indicating the risks her visibility had brought to her door. Roshanian claims that everyone knows who is behind these threats and the aim is to silence voices of dissent in the country. 

The Coalition For Women In Journalism is horrified at the situation women journalists in Afghanistan are being forced to face. The murder of Mina Kheiri is an indictment of the larger global community that has exploited the region and made it vulnerable to immense violence. Women journalists in conservatives region of Afghanistan are facing a double-edged sword of state violence and misogyny with minimal support from the international community. It is time the global community comes together to provide them the support they need.