Gulafroz Ebtekar, a former top CID officer in Kabul, tells how she escaped the Taliban and is now working in exile to restore justice for the women of her homeland
When the Taliban entered Kabul on the morning of 15 August last year, Gulafroz Ebtekar refused to leave her office in the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at the Ministry of Interiors. “Everybody rushed home, but I had responsibilities. I couldn’t just leave, even if the Taliban were coming,” says Ebtekar of her role as the former deputy general director of the CID’s family response unit.–
She chose to stay, knowing that the Taliban would seek revenge for the many cases she had investigated against their members. With a career in the Afghan police forces spanning more than 12 years, she led the department that oversaw cases of gender-based violence, including many in Taliban-controlled areas.
