Exiled Afghan Leader Urges Equal Participation in Humanitarian Efforts and Safe Travel for Citizens
Two months after the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, former parliament member and presidential candidate Fawzia Koofi is speaking out at the United Nations—not as a representative of her country, but as an exile. In an interview with The Associated Press, Koofi emphasized the importance of ensuring that humanitarian aid to Afghanistan involves women at every stage of distribution, stressing that aid should not be politicized.
Koofi, part of a delegation of Afghan women visiting the U.N., made it clear that women must not only be recipients of aid but also active participants in its planning and execution. “Women should be involved in every stage of it and they should be listened to,” she said, calling for free and safe travel for Afghans in and out of the country.
Since fleeing Kabul in August, Koofi has been living in temporary accommodations in Europe, struggling with the painful separation from her homeland. She spoke of the dashed hopes from two decades of progress and her search for permanent residence for herself and her two daughters.
Reflecting on the current state of Afghanistan, Koofi expressed her dismay: “This is not an Afghanistan I fought for. The Afghanistan that I was hoping for was one where women would not suffer as much as I did during my childhood and teenage years under Taliban rule.”