Afghan's woman governor Salima Mazari, who took up arms to fight Taliban, taken hostage

One of Afghanistan's first and fiercest woman governors Salima Mazari, who had taken up arms to fight the Taliban in the Balkh province, has been captured. According to reports by Afghanistan media, Salima Mazari was taken hostage after her district Chahar Kint fell to the Taliban. Her capture has been confirmed by Afghan TV journalist Nadia Momand, who revealed that Mazari was captured after she refused to flee and stayed on to fight the Taliban infiltration. 

Afghan governor Salima Mazari captured

Salima Mazari is a celebrated woman leader in Afghanistan. She is one of only three women governors in the history of the nation and is also famous for taking up arms and orchestrating military operations in Chahar Kint against the Taliban. Reports have stated that until the surrender of the Balkh province, Mazari fought fiercely against the Taliban terrorists even as they gained control over the entire nation. However, the militants soon overtook the larger Balkh province, and after the fall of Kabul and the exit of President Ashraf Ghani, the Taliban insurgents managed to take her hostage. 

Had negotiated surrender of 100 Taliban terrorists

Even as Salima Mazari is taken hostage, it is important to mention that her district- Chahar Kint - was the only region under the control of a woman that did not fall under any of the terror groups until the very end. She managed to defend her province from the Taliban given the considerable experience she had over the last few years in handling insurgency. According to The Guardian, Salima Mazari had successfully negotiated the surrender of 100 Taliban fighters in 2020. 

The 40-year-old had told The Gaurdian that her job was not only limited to tackling day-to-day affairs of bureaucracy but handling military operations. “Sometimes I’m in the office in Charkint, and other times I have to pick up a gun and join the battle,” she had said. “If we don’t fight now against the extremist ideologies and the groups that force them on us, we will lose our chance to defeat them. They will succeed. They will brainwash society into accepting their agenda,” she added.

Born in Iran, Mazari is a member of the Hazara community which the Taliban consider a heretical sect. Her whereabouts are unknown as of now.