December 10, 2020, Jalalabad - Malalai Maiwand, an anchor on Enikas Radio and TV in Afghanistan, was killed on Human Rights Day along with her driver, Mohammad Tahir, when the gunmen opened fire on the vehicle in Jalalabad, Nangarhar province. The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) condemns this horrific attack against Malalai and demands an immediate investigation into her murder. The brutal killing of the journalist and human rights advocate is a harrowing example of the crackdown on press freedom in Afghanistan. 

According to The Guardian, “She was on the way to office when the incident happened,” Attaullah Khogyani, a spokesman for the provincial governor, said to Reuters. Tariq Arian, an Afghan interior ministry spokesman, stated the vast majority of journalists killed in the last decade were Taliban victims. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid denied the group’s involvement in this brutal attack. Islamic State has now claimed responsibility for the murder of Malalai Maiwand.

Malalai is not the first of her family to be targeted. Five years ago, her mother, an activist, was killed by unidentified attackers.

“With the killing of Malalai, the working field for female journalists is getting more smaller and the journalists may not dare to continue their jobs the way they were doing before.” Nai, an organization that supports the media in Afghanistan, stressed in a statement published in the aftermath of the murder.

The assassination of the journalist utterly shocked reporters, press freedom activists and international bodies —especially those working in Afghanistan. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan remarked on this horrifying incident. 

“UNAMA condemns the killing today of human rights activist and journalist Malala Maiwand in #Jalalabad #Afghanistan. It is particularly shocking that her life was taken on International Human Rights Day. #JournalistSafety #PressFreedom #EndImpunity #WPFC2020”, UNAMA wrote in a comment published on its official account.

Malalai was a radio and TV presenter for Enikas media outlet. In addition to her journalistic work, she was an activist deeply engaged in advocating for the rights of Afghan women and children.

Malalai is the fourth woman journalist mercilessly murdered this year. Shaheena Shaheen Baloch, a journalist with PTV Bolan, was killed in cold blood in Turbat, Balochistan in September. Shaheena was allegedly shot twice by whom the CFWIJ has identified as her husband.

Journalist Maria Elena Ferral Hernández was shot dead in broad daylight on March 30. Maria was targeted by two hooded men on a motorbike in the municipality of Papantla, in the state of Veracruz, while she was leaving a notary’s appointment. Maria was rushed to the hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries hours later. Her murderers fled the scene immediately.

Radio journalist Teresa Aracely Alcocer was also murdered in February, outside her home in Ciudad Juarez. She was shot by a group of unknown gunmen while she stood with her father on her property.

CFWIJ strongly condemns the murder of Malalai. We urge Afghan authorities to immediately investigate the attack and the perpetrators responsible. Press freedom in Afghanistan is deteriorating, and journalists are often at risk of being killed. Most of the journalists are targeted with death threats yet persist to work under these harsh conditions. Their killers are rarely found, not to mention the lack of sentenced punishment. Press freedom assailants generate their momentum by viciously targeting women journalists. We demand an end to the widespread impunity and expect that the criminals will be brought to justice.