It’s been a year since the Taliban recaptured Kabul and after a twenty-year-war following the 2001 US-led Nato invasion, the country is now facing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises in the world under a regime that denies women and girls their basic rights.
Neelam Sarwary couldn’t smile for two months while she hid in her home in Kabul with her two small children. She’s left behind the life she built in Afghanistan and is now starting anew in Bristol but has not forgotten about all the women and girls who remain in Afghanistan, under Taliban rule.
The former TV presenter and women’s rights activist feared to leave the house for two months knowing she would be a target, having been a leader in the ‘Green scarfs’ movement and vocal in promoting the education of girls. After an IS suicide bomber attacked Kabul International Airport on August 26, 2021 provoking US airstrikes in the following days, Neelam knew it was not safe for her to go to the airport with her two young kids so she waited at home for two months to ensure the safety of her family.
