Poster girl for women's equality shot dead in Afghanistan

Lieutenant Islam Bibi was no stranger to Western media.

That might be one of the factors that made her a target of insurgents yesterday. Most media coverage is focused on this being a symbolic strike against women's rights, but that's probably an oversimplification.

Afghan National Police are gunned down at the rate of three to ten per day. If Afghan women want to be cops, they're going to take their chances. Sooner or later they could be shot down too.

There is no reliable evidence to show that the Taliban hates women Afghan cops any more than they hate cops in general. The Afghan National Police are seen as stooges of the occupiers, which would be a reasonable conclusion from the perspective of the Taliban.

Not only that, they are widely despised by the general population for their rampant corruption.

So while Islam Bibi was a minor celebrity in certain circles in the West, she met the same fate that eventually catches up with many of her male compatriots in Afghanistan.

Let's not make her a martyr for women's rights.