Nine months after first reporting her story, Sian Norris speaks to an Afghan women’s rights activist in hiding and still hoping to flee to the UK.
“Those of us who stay in Afghanistan face a very dark future,” explains Aadela (not her real name). “Life here under the shadow of the Taliban is very difficult”.
Byline Times first spoke to Aadela in November last year, following the chaotic UK/US withdrawal from Afghanistan after the Taliban recaptured the country after two decades.
Back then, Aadela told us that “if the Taliban find us, they will kill me”. Now, nearly a year after Aadela and her family went into hiding, life is much, much worse. In recent months, the family has been forced to leave their hiding place due to direct threats from the Taliban.
“My family and I are in a bad mental situation,” said Aadela. “We have lost hope in life. My children don’t have freedom, they don’t have rights, they don’t have the right to choose, they don’t have the right to study”.