Shaima Rezayee

Shaima Rezayee, (1981 – May 18 2005), was a female TV presenter on the Afghan music television channel, Tolo TV.

In March 2005, Shaima Rezayee lost her job on the popular show "Hop", an Afghan programme with content similar to the global music video channel MTV, after the programme was criticised by local Islamic clerics. One of the most outspoken critics of "Hop" was Fazl Hadi Shinwari, a chief justice of the Afghan Supreme Court.

He was quoted as saying "It [Hop] will corrupt our society, culture and most importantly, it will take our people away from Islam and destroy our country... This will make our people accept another culture, and make our country a laughing stock around the world."

Rezayee herself was a central focus of the criticism, mainly for her western style of dress. This was believed by the religious authorities to be 'corrupting' the youth of Afghanistan. The only female presenter on the show, Rezayee remained in Afghanistan during the five years that the Taliban controlled Kabul. She was forbidden from going to school as a teenager and, in the final years of Taliban rule, had to wear a burka outside.

On 18 May 2005, Rezayee was shot dead at her home in Char Qala, a neighbourhood of Kabul. She was 24 years old. Press freedom organisation "Reporters sans frontières" and local authorities believe her killing was linked to her work as a presenter on Tolo TV.

External links

* [http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=13829 Reporters sans frontières report on Rezayee's killing]