Jamila Afghani, a prominent women’s rights activist, was getting ready to address a peace dialogue attended by Afghan leaders and Taliban representatives in Doha, when she got the news of an attack back home.
Taliban fighters had just detonated a car bomb close to the office of Afghanistan’s main intelligence service in Ghazni, killing eight security personnel and six civilians, including a child. The powerful blast on Sunday wounded at least 180 people, including 60 children attending classes at a nearby private school.
Three people out of those wounded were Afghani’s relatives.
“I was very upset when I heard about the attack in Ghazni, and when I received a phone call informing me of my family members injured in the attack, I could barely believe I am here to talk with the Taliban about peace,” Afghani told Al Jazeera on Monday, her voice choking as she fought back tears.
“So I took up the opportunity and addressed to them on behalf of everyone in Afghanistan of how desperate we are for peace.”