18 months ago I fled Afghanistan in fear for my life. I haven’t seen my husband since.

I celebrated one of the happiest days of my life when I married my soulmate surrounded by family and friends. Three months later the Taliban took control of my country, Afghanistan.

I was happy and proud of the life I had built. I finished my degree in law and political sciences and landed a job tutoring at university. While I prepared to study for my Master’s degree, my husband excelled in his job as a reporter. On weekends, I would ride horses in the park or we would share tea and homemade meals with our family and friends.

But in August 2021, just a couple of months after I moved in with my husband, the Taliban gained control of Kabul and everything changed. We knew our lives were about to change forever and that our future in Afghanistan was over. We were no longer safe.

Watch: Afghanistan’s Minister of Education Rangina Hamidi.

The last time I saw my husband and my in-laws was in October 2021. My parents, brother, and I were granted humanitarian visas to come to Australia, but my husband and his immediate family were not so lucky.

My heart aches every day without them. It was an impossible decision, but Afghanistan is no longer the home I loved—it had become a prison for women. So, I left, determined to establish a life in Australia for my husband and I to share one day.

When I first arrived in Sydney, it was very hard. I had to learn a new language, get to know a different culture, and navigate the fear I had every day for those I cared about in my home country.

With the support of Settlement Services International (SSI), I am finding my feet and looking to the future. SSI helped me enroll in English language lessons at TAFE and assisted me in securing work interpreting for other Afghan refugees.

I love my new home and am immensely grateful for the generous support I have received from Australians, but Afghanistan is still with me. Each night as I go to sleep, I think of my love and the women and girls I grew up with. I know they are not safe.

Last week, I learnt my husband was again forced into hiding after receiving threats to his life.

My female neighbours, friends, and family, who dreamed of getting a good education, and having a successful career can no longer leave the house unaccompanied, let alone attend the university I once taught at.

It is overwhelming knowing the scale of the challenges those I love face each day. At times I feel hopeless, but what drives me forward is hope.

I hold tight to the hope that I will see my husband, and my in-laws again one day, and we will build a new, safe, chapter together in Australia.

Listen to The Quicky. On this episode, The Quicky speaks to a woman who came to Australia as an Afghan refugee 30 years ago, and a human rights expert to find out what we as citizens, and our Government could and should be doing to help. Post continues below.

I have hope that the brave women of Afghanistan will again one day be seen as the capable, intelligent, and independent equals they are.

And I have hope that the world does not look away from the ongoing humanitarian travesty unfolding in Afghanistan. Please do not look away.

The image used is a stock image. Credit: Getty

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