As bombs rained down and gunfire boomed around the Afghan city of Herat, 26-year-old Iqra, an Indian citizen, was jolted out of a idyllic holiday with her husband *Shehzad (name changed on request), an Afghan national, two years ago. On India’s Independence day this year, also the anniversary of the day the Taliban took Kabul, Ms. Iqra says she wants nothing more than to be able to savour the freedom of being home with her husband and her one-year-old daughter.
“In front of my eyes, Afghanistan totally changed [on August 15], the same day each year my own country celebrates its Independence. I am here in Afghanistan with so many difficulties…I would given anything to be there with my whole family this Independence Day,” Ms. Iqra told The Hindu over the telephone, her 14-month-old daughter gurgling in the background as she told her story.
Ms. Iqra, then an undergraduate student, met Mr. Shehzad, who was pursuing his post graduate studies, when they were both studying at the Aligarh Muslim University. The two were married in India, where Mr. Shehzad completed his Master’s degree in Political Science and planned to enroll for a Ph.D.
