13 Aug 2022

Former Afghan MP Fawzia Koofi on a year since Kabul fell

From Māpuna, 12:11 pm on 13 August 2022

On August 15 last year the Afghan capital, Kabul, again fell under Taliban control after the group's lightning fast campaign across the country following the withdrawal of American troops. Former Afghan MP Fawzia Koofi was in Kabul last August. She had spent twenty years promoting the rights of women and girls, especially their access to education and healthcare. At one point she was the deputy speaker of the Afghan parliament but as the Taliban began to re-emerge she became a target, surviving several assassination attempts. Two years ago she was shot in the arm by Taliban gunmen outside Kabul but she refused to be silenced and even became a government negotiator in face-to-face peace talks with the Taliban. Now Fawzia Koofi is in exile with her two daughters and wondering if she can ever return to her homeland.