Yesterday Zakia Zaki was shot seven times, including in the chest and head, as she slept with her 20-month-old son at her home north of Kabul, Afghanistan. Her three year old son witnessed her death, when three men armed with pistols and rifles, broke into her home and shot Zaki into the bedroom.
She'd been threatened much earlier for her reporting.
A former teacher and school headmistress, she ran the US-funded station, Radio Peace, since it opened after the fall of the Taleban in 2001. Sometimes the media can be silenced.
As you may imagine, women journalists in Afghanistan are extremely rare. Yet, just a few days ago a woman newsreader there was also killed. "Authorities" are making vague statements that the reason for her killing was "family-related".
Kathy Hilton: Instead, let’s turn our attention to Zakia’s courageous choices. They can serve as inspiration to make us better people.
There's comfort in discovering that Zakia's story attracts the attention of many around the world as it is BBC’s sixth most “popular” story right now.
