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‘Where Would I Go?’: Afghanistan’s First Female Mayor Says She’s Waiting For Taliban To Come And Kill Her

Zarifa Ghafari in Washington, D.C. Photo by Mandel Ngan. AFP. Getty Images.

Melanie Wilcox Contributor
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A female mayor from Afghanistan claimed Sunday that she is waiting for the Taliban to kill her after the Islamist organization breached the capital of Kabul, iNews reported.

“I’m sitting here waiting for them to come,” Zarifa Ghafari told iNews. “There is no one to help me or my family. I’m just sitting with them and my husband. And they will come for people like me and kill me. I can’t leave my family. And anyway, where would I go?” (RELATED: Afghan Women Dread Islamist Radicalism, Wearing Burqas As Taliban Takes Over Kabul)

Ghafari became the youngest and first female mayor of Maidan Shahr, the capital city of the Wardak Province in Afghanistan, in 2018 when she was 27 years old, according to iNews. The Taliban has reportedly promised to kill Ghafari many times. Her father, General Abdul Wasi Ghafari, was killed on Nov. 15, 2020, only 20 days after the Taliban’s third attempt on her life failed, iNews reported.

Ghafari felt optimistic about the future of Afghanistan in July. “Younger people are aware of what’s happening,” she told iNews. “They have social media. They communicate. I think they will continue fighting for progress and our rights. I think there is a future for this country.”

The Taliban has taken over major cities in Afghanistan and breached the capital of Kabul on Aug. 15, The Associated Press reported. The Department of State and the Department of Defense (DOD) are deploying about 1,000 more troops to Afghanistan to ensure American citizens’ safety. The DOD is also considering housing about 30,000 Afghan refugees on Army bases within the U.S.