Afghan woman politician sparks uproar in parliament

KABUL, May 8 (Reuters) An outspoken woman member of the Afghan parliament caused a commotion in the house when she criticised military factions that fought a civil war in the 1990s.

Angry members of the assembly, which is dominated by former faction members, threw a plastic bottle and swore at the woman MP, Malalai Joya, during the late yesterday session.

''One hurled a bottle of water at Malalai but missed her,'' said Mohammad Hasib Noori, a parliamentary press officer. ''Some cursed her and one woman MP even pulled her hair.'' Joya was not available for comment today.

The 27-year-old women's rights activist shot to fame in 2003 when she spoke out against war lords at a Loya Jirga grand assembly.

She won a seat in landmark parliamentary elections in September.

Afghan mujahideen, or holy warriors, forced out occup ying Soviet forces in 1989. But the factions that won the jihad, or holy war, then battled over the spoils.

Tens of thousands of people were killed in years of bitter fighting in Kabul, until the Taliban seized the city in 1996.

Some of the factions helped U.S. forces drive the Taliban from power in late 2001, and many commanders and officials got jobs in the new government. Some won seats in parliament.

Several members of parliament have been accused by human rights groups of abuses during the civil war.

Joya interrupted a former commander who was praising the mujahideen during yesterday's session, Noori said.

''She said there were two groups of mujahideen: those who devoted their lives to jihad and those who misused the name of jihad and betrayed and destroyed Afghanistan,'' Noori said.

The president of the lower house, former faction official Yunus Qanuni, called for calm. The session was then adjourned, Noori said.

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