Senior woman police officer killed

Описание: (28 Sep 2008) SHOTLIST
1. Shot and killed captain Malalai Kakar walking with tray of food
2. Various of Kakar having meal with her family
3. Various of Kakar putting on police vest
4. Mid of children playing with toys
5. Kakar walking past camera
6. Kakar getting into police car
7. Driving shot along road
8. Car passing camera
9. Kakar getting out of car and walking into Kandahar central women's jail
10. Kakar in building
11. Various of Kakar interviewing women
12. SOUNDBITE (Pashto) Captain Malalai Kakar, Kandahar's only policewoman and head of the Kandahar central women's jail:
"During the fighting (US-led invasion in 2001), I was unemployed and stayed at home. During the rule of the Taliban, I was not working and women's rights were crushed. Personally, I didn't want to work with them (the Taliban)."
13. Kakar with women
14. Street scene
STORYLINE
Two gunmen on a motorbike shot and killed the woman police officer in charge of female police in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar, said the governor's spokesman.
Malalai Kakar, 41, was travelling from her home to the office on Sunday when she was shot, the spokesman said.
Her son, 18, was wounded in the attack, he said.
Kakar, named after Malalai, a national heroine who rallied a wavering Afghan army to defeat 19th-century British invaders, began training to join the force from age 15 after school, following the wishes of her father who was also an officer.
Her career was cut short during the Taliban era, when the family was forced to flee to Pakistan overnight when she heard reports that Taliban officials were heading to her home to arrest her for the crime of being a former policewoman.
Militants frequently attack projects, schools and businesses run by women.
The hard-line Taliban regime, which was ousted in the 2001 US-led invasion, did not allow women outside the home without a male escort.
"During the fighting (US-led invasion in 2001), I was unemployed and stayed at home. During the rule of the Taliban, I was not working and women's rights were crushed. Personally, I didn't want to work with them (the Taliban)," she told APTN in an interview in 2005.
When the Taliban was finally ousted, she immediately returned home and submitted her resume to get back to the job she loved.
As Kandahar's only policewoman, she had duties besides arresting female criminals. She ran the women's prison and accompanied her colleagues on raids so she could search female quarters.
Kakar, who was married and had six children, was on call 24 hours a day, often working a 15 hour day.

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