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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Diane Taylor

Afghan rights defender told she faces ‘no risk’ from Taliban as Home Office denies asylum

Taliban security personnel stand guard as an Afghan burqa-clad woman, right, walks along a street at a market in the Baharak district of Badakhshan province
Taliban security patrol a market in Afghanistan in 2024. The last three months of 2024 saw 26 Afghan women have their UK asylum rejected. Photograph: Wakil Kohsar/AFP/Getty Images

An Afghan woman who risked her life to defend human rights in her home country before fleeing to the UK has been told by the Home Office it is safe for her to return after officials rejected her asylum claim.

Mina (not her real name) worked for western government-backed projects and was involved in training and mentoring women across Afghanistan, which left her in grave danger even before the Taliban took over in 2021.

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