'Waiting for Taliban to kill me and others like me', says Afghanistan's first woman mayor
Zarifa Ghafari
The fate of women in Afghanistan under Taliban control has been one of the most discussed issues in recent days, especially since it became obvious that the insurgents will take over the nation.
Zarifa Ghafari, who made history in 2018 by becoming Afghanistan's first female mayor, is sitting at home, waiting for the Taliban to come for her.
Ghafari faced a mob of men on her first day in office, but she refused to back down and kept acting as mayor of Maidan Shahr, Wardak province's capital and a Taliban stronghold.
Inside pictures of plane at Kabul airport as Afghans battle to flee Taliban rule
"I'm sitting here waiting for them to come. There is no one to help me or my family. I'm just sitting with them and my husband. And they will come for people like me and kill me," Zarifa Ghafari, the mayor of Maidan Shar, told the British newspaper i. "I can't leave my family. And anyway, where would I go?"
In March 2020, the Trump administration presented her with the International Women of Courage Award, during which she warned that Afghan women are "always worried for the future" since they "have not forgotten the Taliban's reign."
Watch: Satellite images show crowd at Kabul airport amid Taliban's capture of Kabul
Women were compelled to wear a burqa, were not permitted to leave the house without a male guardian, were not allowed to work or even go to school when they were in control from 1996 to 2001.
"Younger people are aware of what's happening. They have social media. They communicate. I think they will continue fighting for progress and our rights. I think there is a future for this country," Ghafari said.
At the age of 26, Ghafari made history when she became the youngest and first female mayor in Afghanistan's Maidan Wardak province.
Ghafari, like other women who have managed to break free, is now frightened about the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan.
(With inputs from agencies)