It's almost the end of the month. July has seen a great deal of bloodshed, throughout Afghanistan in general and Kandahar specifically. You are probably aware of many of the high profile killings. Those of President Karzais brother, or the two turban suicide bombings of the city's senior cleric and the mayor. You have maybe even seen footage of the attack on the Intercontinental Hotel or the gun and bomb attack that killed 22 including a BBC journalist.
I saw this week one other murder that stuck in my mind. One of the countless killings that occur daily here, but this was a murder that was never widely reported. A murder that was never condemned by the great and good. A murder that provoked no words of outrage. A murder that just passed by, silently, an unimportant, un-newsworthy event.
Reena was twenty years old and she worked for an Afghan non-governmental organisation called The Organization for Human Welfare. Funded by Western Charities, The Organization for Human Welfare raises awareness of good health practices amongst women, whilst promoting peaceful values. Reena worked primarily in rural districts of Kandahar, traditional safe-havens for the Taliban, where security is precariously balanced and the fighting is intense. Reena was paid ten dollars a day and was the sole earner in her family.
Reena was studying at a Girls High School, wanting to study at University. Both ideas anathema to the Taliban. She was a fervent believer in women's rights. This sealed her fate. On Sunday, as Reena was walking home from school, she passed the Governors Palace in Kandahar, one of the most tightly guarded spots in the city. As she walked, dressed in a full burka, two men on a motorcycle pulled alongside her and shot her three times. Once in the head, then once in the mouth, then once in the neck.
Her body was taken to hospital but no autopsy was conducted. No examination was made of her at all. Because she was wearing a burka, it was just assumed she was female. The police did not collect any evidence. No investigation will be made, mostly because there are no professional investigators. If there were, there are not enough judges to review and try any cases. No juries will sit fairly in judgement because of fear of recrimination. If, improbably, the murderers were caught and found guilty, the prison system is so corrupt they could purchase their own freedom.
Reena was buried on Monday. Her blood, which stained the pavements of Kandahar, has probably already been scattered in the dust that blows through this damned country.
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