by Alex Jordan

illustration & colors by Peter Holland

Name: Lieutenant-Colonel Malalai Kakar

Born–Died: 1967– 28 September 2008
Profession: Deputy Commander of police in Kandahar.
Accomplishment: Headed unit tackling crimes against women.
Nationality: Afghanistani

→ Philanthropy: 7/10
She continuously risked her life – and eventually died – to improve the lives of Afghanistani women. She had a violent side to her nature but was no mere thug. She was happily married and would get up early every morning to remove death threats from the front door before her children saw them. “This isn’t an easy job, but it is important that women do it,” she said. “We need to be a part of the new Afghanistan.”
She continued to work in an environment where, as her obituary notes, more than 750 police officers have been killed since March of this year.

→ Extremism: 4/10

She once claimed, “I’m very famous as a dangerous person in Kandahar. People fear me. If I go near the shops, they take their stuff and leave.”

→ Guilt Factor: 5/10
She frequently administered beatings to miscreants.

→ Mythology / Mythbuster: 4/10
In Kandahar she was known as ‘Malalai’, rather like ‘Madonna’ or ‘Beckham’ after killing three men in a gun battle.

→ Inspiration to Others: 6/10
As the first woman to graduate from the Kandahar Police Academy, chances are she inspired a number of her successors.

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