January 30, 2008	Wednesday	Muharram 20, 1429

KANDAHAR, Jan 29: Hundreds of women protested on Tuesday against the abduction of a female US aid worker in southern Afghanistan and called on religious leaders to condemn the kidnapping.

Cyd Mizell, 49, and her Afghan driver were seized while travelling to work on Saturday in the southern city of Kandahar. The extremist Taliban say they are trying to find out if any of their members were involved.

Around 500 women gathered in an auditorium normally used for meetings and wedding ceremonies in Kandahar for a demonstration organised by the city’s women’s association.

“We call on Kandahar religious council to condemn this act and encourage the public to help, call on the abductors to release her without any harm or conditions,” read a resolution passed by the meeting. They also called on tribal elders and the youth community of the province to “help find and release” Mizell.

We condemn the abduction of a foreign women who was working for Kandahar people and Kandahar women, it read. Protester Bibi Amina, 35, said abducting women was contrary to the principles of Islam and Afghan culture. “Such a cowardly act defames the whole nation. We ask whoever the kidnappers are to free her safely and with no conditions,” she said.

Mizell’s employer is a small Philippines-headquartered community development organisation called the Asian Rural Life Development Foundation.—AFP