Who Is Rangina Kargar? Afghan Parliamentarian Claims Being Deported From Delhi

Who is Rangina Kargar: Noted speaker, women's rights activist and member of Parliament in Afghanistan, Rangina Kargar has claimed she was deported from the Delhi airport upon arrival from Turkey last week. She has expressed disappointment with the treatment she said she received in India, which is among countries rushing evacuations from Afghanistan after the Taliban's takeover on August 15. India's evacuation program is named Operation Devi Shakti.

The government sources later told ANI that Kargar was deported because she did not have any documents on her. During an all-party meeting on August 26, the central government said that her deportation was a 'mistake' and that the government has apologised to the diplomat and has offered her an emergency visa.

While speaking to Indian Express, Kargar said, "JP Singh (Joint Secretary in-charge of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran in the MEA) spoke to me. He apologised for what had happened and asked me to apply for an e-emergency visa. I asked him if the official passport is no longer valid, but he did not answer. I told him I had tried for an e-visa for my daughter on (August) 19 but there was no response to the application."

An independent politician hailing from the Balkh province in Afghanistan, Kargar holds the portfolio of Secretary of the parliamentary committee on economy, rural development and agriculture. She has been in politics since 2010 and is also known for her work in the education sector, as an educator as well as a staunch advocate of girls' rights in the remotest regions of her country.

"I never expected this from Gandhiji’s India," Kargar earlier told Indian Express after her deportation. She was "treated as a criminal," she said, recalling the airport staff saying they could not help her out. "...they have treated a woman and a member of Parliament like this."

Two hours after being told she would not be permitted to stay, Kargar was reportedly sent back to Istanbul on the same flight she had arrived in. India's external affairs ministry said it is unaware about the incident.

Why You Should Know Who Is Rangina Kargar And Other Afghan Women Politicians

According to Kargar, she was travelling with her diplomat's passport - one she has always flown with into India in the past without issues. This time was different.

The 36-year-old activist pins it on possible security concerns, owing to the crisis unfolding in Afghanistan. The Taliban, since taking Kabul and asserting authority, have taken up leadership in the country that citizens fear is a return to their oppressive regime from the 1990s when atrocities and human rights violations - especially against women - were common.

The future of women in public spaces has emerged as a cause of serious concern, especially with Taliban leaders admitting their soldiers are "not trained" to respect women working outside of homes. Read here.

Afghan women have noted and are raising objection to the absence of women politicians and office-holders from the decision-making and power change currently underway in the country. Teacher and activist Pashtana Durrani, talking to SheThePeople from Afghanistan, reiterated that the political rights of women in the country are of paramount importance at the moment.

Political deputy of the Afghan National Consensus Party, Zarmina Kakar told us that the Taliban are yet to make their stand clear in terms of women's rights and freedoms. There is general agreement among Afghan women on-ground that the promises the Islamist organisation has made with respect to their education, careers, movement, public participation are vague and better done than said.

Image: Rangina Kargar / Facebook

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