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Shukria Barakzai
Shukria Barakzai, Wolesi Jirga rep, Kabul Province, 2005.Shukria Barakzai, Wolesi Jirga rep, Kabul Province, 2005.
Born	1972 (age 52–53)
Nationality	Afghanistan
Occupation(s)	politician, entrepeneur
Known for	elected to Wolesi Jirga in 2005

Shukria Barakzai is an Afghan politician, journalist and entrepreneur, and a prominent Muslim feminist.

Early life

She was born in 1972 in Kabul, Afghanistan. "Barakzai" is a common name among the Pashtun, one of the country's main ethnic groups, and was shared by its rulers from the 1830s until the overthrow of the last king, the year she was born. In her childhood, Kabul had nightclubs, and she remembers her mother being able to walk the streets of the capital wearing a miniskirt. She speaks both of Afghanistan's official languages, Pashto and Dari, as well as English.

Barakzai went to Kabul University in the 1990s. Half way through a degree, she had to break off her studies because of mounting violence between the government and the Mujahideen. In September 1996 the Taliban captured Kabul. By then, many citizens, especially the educated middle classes, had left for a life in exile, but she stayed in the city of her birth. In 1999, she felt ill and went to see a doctor; the religious police caught her on the street without her husband and beat her for what they saw as a crime (see Taliban treatment of women). Barakzai felt that she had to resist in some way, so set up an underground school in her home. She resumed her education right after the Taliban were driven out of Kabul in late 2001 following the American-led invasion, and gained a degree in archaeology and geology.

Campaigning journalism

In 2002 Barakzai founded Aina-E-Zan (Women’s Mirror), a national weekly newspaper. Her mission was to "improve the understanding and knowledge of Afghan women in society” (see Civic Journalism and Advocacy journalism). She began the publication without any resources, lacking even a computer and access to a printing press, hoping to encourage women to fight for their own rights, and to build a strong democracy and civil society.

She campaigns on issues such as maternal and infant mortality, areas in which Afghanistan has great difficulty. (The World Health Organization (WHO) calculated that Afghanistan in 2003 had the world's highest proportion of women dying in childbirth (Maternal Mortality Ratio) at 1900 per 100 000 live births.) Barakzai states, "Child marriage, forced marriage, and violence against women are still common and accepted practices." She focuses on large issues, saying, "in my opinion the burka is not that important. What is important is education, democracy and freedom." She stresses unity among women as well as the role that men have to play.

Barakzai credits technology such as mobile phones, banned under the Taliban regime, with helping young Afghans integrate with the modern world. For example, using text messaging to vote for a participant in a television talent show contest demonstrates how democratic voting can work. She also uses her position to point out the lack of freedom of the press and the risks to journalists. (Reporters Without Borders ranks Afghanistan 156 out of 173 in its list of press freedom, and says the situation is especially difficult for women and those working in the provinces. )

Move into politics

Barakzai was appointed a member of the 2003 loya jirga, a body of representatives from all over Afghanistan that was nominated to discuss and pass the new constitution after the fall of the Taliban. In the October 2004 elections she was elected as a member of the House of the People or Wolesi Jirga, the lower house of the National Assembly of Afghanistan. She is one of 71 women out of 249 MPs.

She is one of only a handful of female MPs who speak up for women's rights, and faces death threats for her views. Her criticisms of the legislature are wide-ranging: "Our parliament is a collection of lords. Warlords, drug lords, crime lords." She defended Malalai Joya, another female MP who has condemned warlordism, who faced abuse and threats of violence in parliament: "I was I think the only one which is I just announced that some MPs were threatening to rape her. That's why after this, they kept quiet."

Views

While expressing gratitude for "the support of the international community" in creating the conditions by 2004 in which hundreds of publications and dozens of radio stations could flourish, Barakzai condemns "the support of armed groups and outlaws, a key part of U.S. policy". Although most of her life has been spent in Kabul, she acknowledges that the capital does not truly represent the country, and refuses to blame the Taliban for all the difficulties that Afghanis face: "When we talk about Afghanistan, we should discuss conditions in the entire country. In many provinces and villages, which are in very bad condition, there is no difference between the period before the Taliban regime, the time of the Taliban, and now." She opposes U.S. President Barack Obama's troop build-up plan, asking for "30, 000 scholars or engineers" instead of that many soldiers. She intends to stand for President of Afghanistan in 2014, as by then she will be over 40, as the constitution requires.

Marriage and family

Barkzai is married to Abdul Ghafoor Dawi, a millionaire who stood unsuccessfully for Parliament at the same time as her. In 2004, 12 years after they were wed, he took a second wife, as is his right under Muslim marriage law. He did this without telling Barakzai, who learned of it through friends, and she admits to feeling "disturbed and hurt" and "a victim of tradition" because of his decision. She has turned her attention to campaigning against multiple marriages, trying to persuade women not to become a man's second wife She and her husband have three daughters.

Recognition

World Press Review (Worldpress.org) named Barakzai International Editor of the Year in 2004. In December 2005, she was named Woman of the Year by the BBC Radio 4 programme Woman's Hour.

References and footnotes

External links

Worldpress list of resources: speeches, photos, interview
Jenni Murray interviews Barakzai on Woman's Hour
interview in Asharq Al-Awsat

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