Thousands of female former agents ‘at risk' from Taliban

A woman wearing a burqa leaves the passport office in Kabul last month (AFP/Getty)

- MAYA OPPENHEIM

Thousands of women who formerly worked as national security agents in Afghanistan are trapped in the country at profound risk from the Taliban, The Independent understands.

The National Directorate of Security (NDS), Afghanistan’s national intelligence and security service, was disbanded by the Taliban after they gained control of the capital, Kabul, in August. Agents at the NDS had worked closely with the UK and the US, carrying out surveillance operations on the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

Speaking to The Independent in an exclusive interview, a woman who worked in a senior role at the agency has said she fears for her life and is currently on the run from the Taliban. The former agent – her name is withheld to protect her safety – said she fled to hide in villages outside Kabul after the Taliban seized control of the city in mid-August, and has been too fearful to return to her home since. Members of the hardline Islamist group have come to look for her at her home six times since then, she added.

The 60-year-old, who worked for the NDS for 35 years, said neighbours and security guards who work at her property informed her that the Taliban had come hunting for her three times in the summer and three times in the winter. “Around 17 August, the Taliban came three times with three police cars. There were around 20 or 25 members of the Taliban. The Taliban broke the door and came inside the house.”