Afghan Woman Cop Khatera Shot And Blinded For Getting A Job

Khatera a 33-year-old Afghan woman was allegedly shot and stabbed with a knife in the eyes for getting a job outside the house. Three men came on a motorcycle and reportedly attacked her just after she left her job at a police station in Afghanistan’s central Ghazni province. When she woke up at the hospital she had lost her sight and everything was dark.

Khatera had joined the Ghazni police as an officer of the crime branch a few months ago. With the attack, she not only lost her sight but her dream of having an independent career for which she worked so hard and battled with the society.

“I asked the doctors, why I can’t see anything? They told me that my eyes are still bandaged because of the wounds. But at that moment, I knew my eyes had been taken from me,” she said, quoted Reuters.

Also Read: 25 Female Cricketers Awarded Central Contracts By Afghanistan Cricket Board

Both Khatera and the local authorities have alleged Taliban militants are behind the execution of the attack. But the militants deny involvement and say that the assailants acted on a tip-off from her father who was strongly against her working outside the home.

She said, “I wish I had served in the police for at least a year. If this had happened to me after that, it would have been less painful. It happened too soon ... I only got to work and live my dream for three months.”

Since her childhood, she dreamt of working outside the house and having an independent career. However, her father never supported her dream but she never gave up and was able to find support from her husband. According to her, several times while going for her job she saw her father following her, he contacted the Taliban to prevent her from doing the job. Khatera further added that he even provided the Taliban with a copy of her ID card to prove she worked for the police and that he had called her throughout the day she was attacked, asking for her location. Khatera’s father has been arrested by the police.

Also Read: Shamsia Alizada, 18 Year Old Afghan Who Survived ISIS Attack Tops Exams

Currently, Khatera is hiding out in Kabul along with her husband and children, recovering from the attack. She is scared of a motorbike’s sound and her extended family has cut all the contacts with her, especially her mother who blames her for her father’s arrest. Khatera desperately hopes to recover her eyesight so that she can live her dream once more.

Arunima Sharma is an intern with SheThePeople.TV