Fareeda Kokikhel Afridi

Last updated

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. [1] [2] [3]

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. [4]

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. [5] [6]

Afridi was critical of the Pakistani government, the Taliban, and the patriarchal nature of Pakistani society. [7]

In June 2012, she told journalists she was being threatened. Her friends and colleagues suspected the threats originated with FATA Taliban militants. [7]

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. [8]

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. [9] [10] [11]

She was the second female in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to be targeted by Taliban extremists. [12]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Awami National Party</span> Pakistani political party

The Awami National Party is a Pashtun nationalist, secular and leftist political party in Pakistan. The party was founded by Abdul Wali Khan in 1986 and its current president is Asfandyar Wali Khan, grandson of Bacha Khan, with Mian Iftikhar Hussain serving as the Secretary-General. Part of the PPP-led cabinet of the Pakistani government during 2008−13, ANP's political position is considered left-wing, advocating for secularism, public sector government, and social egalitarianism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khyber District</span> District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan

Khyber District is a district in the Peshawar Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Until 2018, it was an agency of the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas. With the merger of FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2018, it became a district. It ranges from the Tirah valley down to Peshawar. It borders Nangarhar Province to the west, Orakzai District to the south, Kurram District to southwest, Peshawar to the east and Mohmand District to the north.

Abdul Lateef Afridi, also known as Lateef Lala, was a Pakistani lawyer and politician who served in the National Assembly from 1997 until 1999 as a member of the Awami National Party. In September 2021, Afridi was one of the founders of the National Democratic Movement.

Samia Sarwar was a Pakistani woman who was shot dead in her lawyers' office in Lahore in an honour killing arranged by her parents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federally Administered Tribal Areas</span> Former semi-autonomous region in north-western Pakistan (1947–2018)

The Federally Administered Tribal Areas was a semi-autonomous tribal region in north-western Pakistan that existed from 1947 until being merged with neighbouring province Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2018 with the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan passed by the Parliament as well as Provincial Assembly of KPK. It consisted of seven tribal agencies (districts) and six Frontier Regions, and were directly governed by Pakistan's federal government through a special set of laws called the Frontier Crimes Regulations.

The August 2011 Khyber Agency bombing occurred on 19 August 2011 in Jamrud, Ghundai within the Khyber Agency of FATA, Pakistan. At least 48 people were reported to have died after a suicide bomber exploded his vest at a mosque during Friday prayers in the month of Ramadan when about 300-500 people were praying; at least 40 others were also wounded.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Misri Khan Orakzai</span> Pakistani journalist

Misri Khan Orakzai, who had been a journalist for the Daily Ausaf and Daily Mashriq and was the president of the Hangu Union of Journalists, was from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan and was shot and killed at the press club in Hangu by the Pakistani Taliban, or Tehrik-e Taliban, for negative coverage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 Khyber Agency bombing</span> 2012 terror attack in northwest Pakistan

The 2012 Khyber Agency bombing occurred on 10 January 2012, when a bomb exploded near a petrol pump in the town of Jamrud near the Afghan border in Khyber Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan. The bombing killed at least 30 people while 78 others were injured.

This is a list of terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2012. Pakistan has faced numerous attacks by insurgents as a result of the ongoing War in North-West Pakistan by the Pakistani military against militant groups, part of the War on Terror. At the same time, there have also been numerous drone attacks in Pakistan carried out by the United States which exclusively target members of militant groups along the Afghan border regions.

The May 2011 Peshawar bombing occurred in Peshawar, Pakistan, when a car bomb was detonated as Nasrullah Khan Afridi entered his car after leaving the Tribal Union of Journalists offices. The bomb instantly killed Afridi. No one has been suspected or arrested for the attack. As a tribal journalist, Afridi made many enemies through his journalism. The incident took place in Peshawar's Khyber super market.

Society for Appraisal and Women Empowerment in Rural Areas (SAWERA) is a human rights organization, NGO in KPK and Tribal Regions, Pakistan. It works for the welfare of women and children. It was founded in 2004 and formally registered in 2008 by the human rights defender Noorzia Afridi and Fareeda Afridi and some other like minded women. It was started from Khyber Agency Federally Administrative Tribal Areas now Merged Areas. In July 2012, Farida was killed by motorcycle-borne gunmen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malik Mehr un Nisa Afridi</span>

Malik Mehrun Nisa Afridi was a Pakistani Lawyer and a Politician. She was twice member of the Lower house of Parliament. She was elected on Reserved Seats for Women in the 8th National Assembly from 1988 to 1990 and again in the 13th National Assembly from 2008 to 2013. She joined Pakistan Peoples Party on April 24, 1968, as a Student Leader and stayed loyal to her party till her death on March 4, 2013. She was a successful Lawyer well respected by her peers. She was a member of the Central Executive Committee of the Pakistan Peoples Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gulalai Ismail</span> Pakistani human rights and peace activist

Gulalai Ismail is a Pakistani human rights activist from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. She is the chairperson of Aware Girls, a global ambassador for Humanists International, and a leading member of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM). She speaks on the subject of promoting peace and women's empowerment at conferences internationally, and is the recipient of the International Humanist of the Year Award, the Chirac Prize for Conflict Prevention, and the Anna Politkovskaya Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FATA University</span>

FATA University is a public sector university situated in Akhorwal, Tribal Sub-Division Darra Adam Khel, Kohat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The university is run by the Higher Education Department, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zaman Mehsud</span> Pakistani journalist

Muhammed Zaman Mehsud, a Pakistani journalist for Urdu language publications Daily Ummat and Daily Nai Baat, as well as the SANA, based in Pakistan, was murdered. The Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for his killing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manzoor Pashteen</span> Pakistani human rights activist (born 1994)

Manzoor Ahmad Pashteen is a Pakistani Pashtun human rights activist from South Waziristan. He is the chairman of Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM).

Aware Girls is a non-governmental organization in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, founded in 2002 which aims to address violence and discrimination against women and young girls in Pakistan, and advocate for women's rights, education, and access to sexual and reproductive health resources. Their stated aim is "to strengthen the leadership capacity of young women enabling them to act as agents of social change and women empowerment in their communities."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PK-66 Khyber-I</span>

PK-66 Khyber-I is a constituency for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.It was created in 2018 after merger of FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa before 2019 elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PK-67 Khyber-II</span>

PK-67 Khyber-II is a constituency for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.It was created in 2018 after merger of FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa before 2019 elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PK-68 Khyber-III</span>

PK-68 Khyber-III is a constituency for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.It was created in 2018 after merger of FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa before 2019 elections.

References

  1. ↑ Activist's killing reverberates in Pakistan
  2. ↑ Woman NGO worker shot dead in Peshawar
  3. ↑ 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.
  4. ↑ 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.
  5. ↑ "About SAWERA". Safe World for Women. Archived from the original on 18 February 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  6. ↑ Positive Pakistanis: Sister act
  7. 1 2 Pakistani Women's Rights Activist Fareeda 'Kokikhel' Afridi Shot Dead in Peshawar
  8. ↑ 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.
  9. ↑ Woman activist's murder widely condemned
  10. ↑ Farida Afridi's murder: Alliance calls for timely justice, protection on human rights activists
  11. ↑ HRCP condemns killing of human rights activist, alleged blasphemer
  12. ↑ Zia, Asad (11 October 2012). "Targeting women:Malala, Taliban's third female victim". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.