Female District Chief Doubles as Anti-Militant Leader in Afghanistan

Date: 25 June 2019 - 21:42

News ID: ۶۷۴۰۵

MAZAR-E-SHARIF (Xinhua) – Every morning Salima Mazari wakes up earlier than most to travel the 40km between the provincial capital of Mazar-e-Sharif to make a timely arrival in the Chaharkint district where her office is located.
In addition to being the Chaharkint district chief in Balkh province, she also leads an anti-terrorist campaign in the heavily militancy-battered district in the north of Afghanistan.
Not only is the road the district chief regularly travels on not asphalted, but it is also mountainous, rugged and relatively unsafe in terms of security. Nevertheless, she has to travel on the road every day to get to her office, located in the old but naturally scenic Sharshar village of the remote district.
After the Taliban's hardliner regime was vanquished, the 37-year-old master's degree holder and mother of three returned home from Iran and managed to work for many offices in the country.
Nowadays, however, she worries about her district's fate in the war-plagued country. This has prompted her to lead a local campaign to fight against militant uprisings, along with her official duties as the district chief.
According to the district chief, the Taliban have deployed more than 100 militants in the Tandorak area of Chaharkint district.
"I shared the problems of the Chaharkint district to the provincial governor, police chief and the army corps commander six months ago, but to no avail. I will take your problems to them again," Mazari reassured 58-year-old Ahmad Boye, one of the local commanders who was providing her with information on how the militants could infiltrate the district.
There are a few combatants operating in the village who are still active in battling the Taliban's uprisings. The security of the district, however, is predominantly undertaken by the villagers themselves, she told Xinhua.
"We usually visit the frontline to encourage the locals and security forces around them and assure them that a government-led operation will be conducted to clear the Tandorak village of insurgents."
"If we strictly follow government policy, then we have to hand over the district to the Taliban, as there are not enough troops, no local policemen and no protective units," said the female district chief.
Salima Mazari is not the first woman to work as chief in the hostile district in the northern Balkh province.
Another former commander, Qumandan Kaftar, who had fought against the Taliban and rival warlords and whose nom de guerre could be translated as Commander Dove, is still powerful in the adjacent Baghlan province.