Zahra Khawari, tragic case of suicide.
The case of Zahra Khawari was a tragic case of suicide at Kabul University, after her dissertation was rejected repeatedly by her Professor of Veterinary Sciences. The case was widely reported in Kabul and drew on campus protests by students at Kabul University.
In cooperation with the Afghanistan Independent Bar Association (AIBA), MA represented the family in a suit to fulfill her father’s calls for justice and change in higher education. Presently, we are investigating the matter in cooperation with other lawyers and the government.
During the last few months, we filed several Criminal Procedure Code petitions including:
1. Petition to the Attorney General to send Zahra’s laptop (on which she wrote her dissertation) for forensic digital examination. We made this request as the laptop’s hard-drive was completely erased and we had suspected that the evidence had been tampered with.
2. Petition to the Attorney General to issue an order to stop the Defendant (the Professor) from leaving the country. We requested this order upon discovery that he was bound for Italy for a study-visit.
Both orders were passed by the Attorney General. The EVAW Department had also sent a questionnaire to the Academic Assembly of Kabul university to obtain information about standard protocols for reviewing and assessing dissertations. Several advocacy meetings were organized by appointed lawyers around other details of the case.
On Human Rights day on 10 December 2017, we issued a Press Release to call for reforms in Higher Education.
For more information, the story has been reported here, here and here.
· Pajhwok
· Etilaat Roz
Source of photograph: Free Women Writers