A Catholic human rights activist was abducted in Kabul, Afghanistan on June 9.
Judith D'Souza, 40, had been working for the Aga Khan Foundation promoting the economic empowerment of women when she was abducted in the Qala-e-Fatullah area of Kabul on Thursday. She moved to Afghanistan in July 2015 to work on the project as a technical assistant.
Before moving to Kabul, D'Souza, who is originally from Kolkata in India, had spent 15 years working as a social and environmental specialist in her home country.
"I see Judith as a new Malala Yousafzai who has been targeted for her peaceful and legitimate human rights work," William Gomes, a Bangladeshi human rights activist, told Christian Today.
Malala Yousafzai, 18, is a Pakistani activist for female education and the youngest-ever Nobel Prize laureate. There was an attempt on her life in 2012 by the Taliban.
"The abduction of Judith D'Souza illustrates not only the dangers faced by high-profile women in Afghanistan, but the government's failure to take concrete action to protect women under threat," Gomes added.
"Judith was working on empowering women which is deemed a threat to radical people specifically to [the] Taliban in Afghanistan.
"We express deep concern about the fate of Judith D'Souza. We believe that her abduction is directly linked to her peaceful work for the promotion of human rights," he said.
A number of international NGOs have sent a letter to Ashraf Ghani, President of Afghanistan, urging civil authorities to "immediately take all necessary measures to save Judith D'Souza and ensure her integrity and physical and psychological security".
They call for a "prompt, thorough and impartial investigation into the abduction and bring those responsible to justice".
