Women police in danger in Afghanistan

Amid the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, one group at particular risk is women police, as reported here. These women are in danger not only because they worked for the national government and cooperated with Western partners, but also because they dared to challenge religious and conservative gender roles. Women comprised less than 3% of Afghan police, but that accounts for 4,000 women now at risk “of assassination, violence or reprisal from violent extremists, but also from the community and their own family members.” One officer urges evacuations — “Police women are in serious danger – even their families are threatened. Will they be killed or stoned to death? Police women and their families must be relocated to safer places.”