Survived to Inspire: my story

Since childhood, my dream was to become an independent woman and be a symbol of possibility to my generation of women in Afghanistan who were deprived of their basic rights. As a female Hazara minority, the choices for higher education were very limited.

Not many girls made it to high school due to social and family restrictions, including arranged marriages in their teenage years.

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In contrast, I was fortunate because my parents supported me. 

I tested out of several grades and graduated high school ahead of my peers. As a female Hazara minority, I was not accepted into Kabul University, even though I had an A+ grade average. I received a full scholarship to Asian University for Women in Bangladesh. My studies were going smoothly until the COVID-19 pandemic began; I was forced to return to Afghanistan and attempted to study remotely.

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The Taliban sabotaged power facilities, so our home only had electricity and internet one or two days per week, and my grades suffered as a result. In an effort to continue my education, I applied and was accepted to Trent University in Canada.

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My visa to Canada was being processed when the Taliban took control of Afghanistan. My family was forced to escape due to my father’s career as an Infantry officer and his seventeen years of work with the U.S. forces. 

In this chaos, I became separated from my family and decided to join my 150 female classmates aboard seven buses. We tried to enter the Kabul airport eight times over five days and encountered Taliban checkpoints many times. Each time they pointed their rifles at our faces and threatened us to shoot if they ever saw us again. To create fear they beat our drivers, but it did not deter me. In my mind, the outcome was clear: either they would shoot me or let me pass, but no matter what, I was going to keep trying to escape Afghanistan. I knew with certainty the Taliban were capable of torturing me, raping me, forcing me to be a Taliban war bride, or killing me. Even though I was frightened, I persisted with my efforts. 
 

As I sat in the bus between Taliban checkpoints and among thousands of Afghans attempting to enter the Kabul airport, I texted with my sister, Azada, who was in the United States and in contact with my father’s former U.S. military colleagues. They requested that I discreetly provide our location coordinates and photos of our surroundings, so they could relay it to the U.S. commander, in hopes that we would be rescued. Eventually, our efforts succeeded. We were located by U.S. troops and brought past the Taliban into the airport except for three of our female classmates. I convinced the U.S. military troops to negotiate with the Taliban for the girls’ release. A few hours later, my classmates were brought into the airport to join us for evacuation onboard U.S. Air Force airplanes. 

Miraculously, I am now safe in the United States and have been given a second chance, while many are left behind. It is my duty to realize my dream to enlighten and inspire other Afghan women so they may break free from Taliban oppression. 

My experiences have taught me that decisiveness, resilience, and persistence have been key enablers to my success thus far, and I believe they will continue to be essential to my future. Education is the bridge from my current life to the future I will have.

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I am currently participating in interviews and other activities to raise awareness for the Taliban’s ongoing brutality, which contradicts their scripted press releases, and to help raise funds for my education. 

If I don’t complete my university education, the Taliban will win.

If I complete my university education, I will win.  

I have been accepted to Virginia Tech to study computer science, and I’m seeking scholarships to fund my education.