The response to Ukraine is laudable. But as a British Afghan, I’m a little jealous

A woman and her children at a clinic for displaced people near Herat, Afghanistan. Photograph: Mstyslav Chernov/AP

The world’s attention is focused on the conflict in Ukraine. But, as someone born in Afghanistan, the catastrophic events since the fall of Kabul are still uppermost in my mind.

In those tumultuous days last August, the bustle of the capital city evaporated. The new Taliban government banned women from public spaces for decency reasons. Speaking out or protesting was met with harsh beatings and threats of maiming and murder. Gone, too, was outdoor music, or women walking around their city without a male escort.