| Fareeda "Kokikhel" Afridi | |
|---|---|
| Born | Khyber tribal area, Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), Pakistan |
| Died | Hayatabad, Peshawar, Pakistan |
| Nationality | Pakistani |
| Education | Master's degree in gender studies |
| Occupation(s) | Feminist, women's rights activist |
| Organization(s) | Society for Appraisal and Women Empowerment in Rural Areas (SAWERA) |
| Known for | Women's rights activism, co-founding SAWERA |
Fareeda "Kokikhel" Afridi was a Pakistani feminist, a women's rights activist in Pakistan. In July 2012, at the age of 25, she was shot dead on her way to work.
Afridi was born and raised in the Khyber tribal area, part of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), an impoverished semi-autonomous region in Pakistan's northwest, bordering Afghanistan.
She graduated from university with a master's degree in gender studies. While still in school, with her sister Noor Zia Afridi, she founded the Society for Appraisal and Women Empowerment in Rural Areas (SAWERA), a women-run NGO promoting women's empowerment in FATA.
Afridi was critical of the Pakistani government, the Taliban, and the patriarchal nature of Pakistani society.
In June 2012, she told journalists she was being threatened. Her friends and colleagues suspected the threats originated with FATA Taliban militants.
On 5 July 2012, as Afridi left her home to go to work in Hayatabad a suburb of Peshawar, she was shot once in the head and twice in the neck by two motorcyclists, who afterwards escaped. She died in hospital.
Condemning the murder at a protest camp organized by the Aurat Foundation along with Peshawar Press Club and Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain stated:
Imposing death decrees on individuals such as Farida has resulted in a negative portrayal of our country as well as Islam itself.
She was the second female in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to be targeted by Taliban extremists.
See also
References
- Activist's killing reverberates in Pakistan
- Woman NGO worker shot dead in Peshawar
- Yusufzai, Zahir (5 July 2012). "A Feminist, Women Rights Activist Killed". FATA Research Centre. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
- Zia, Asad (5 July 2012). "Militancy: A progressive voice for tribal women silenced in targeted attack". The Express Tribute (with the International Herald Tribune). Retrieved 8 July 2012.
- "About SAWERA". Safe World for Women. Archived from the original on 18 February 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
- Positive Pakistanis: Sister act
- ^ Pakistani Women's Rights Activist Fareeda 'Kokikhel' Afridi Shot Dead in Peshawar
- Crowstaff, Chris (7 July 2012). "Pakistani Women's Rights Activist Fareeda 'Kokikhel' Afridi Shot Dead in Peshawar". TrustLaw (Thomson Reuters). Archived from the original on 5 July 2013. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
- Woman activist's murder widely condemned
- Farida Afridi's murder: Alliance calls for timely justice, protection on human rights activists
- HRCP condemns killing of human rights activist, alleged blasphemer
- Zia, Asad (11 October 2012). "Targeting women:Malala, Taliban's third female victim". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
- Pakistani women's rights activists
- Pashtun women
- 2012 deaths
- People from Khyber District
- Pakistani feminists
- Terrorism deaths in Pakistan
- Pakistani terrorism victims
- People of the insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
- People killed by the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan
- Violence against women in Pakistan
- Assassinated Pakistani activists
- Incidents of violence against women
- Deaths by firearm in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
- Pashtun women's rights activists