Afghanistan: A Young Woman’s Story

Host Neeta introduces the episode, focusing on Faiza, a 21-year-old Hazara woman from Afghanistan. Faiza begins by sharing her background, her aspiration to become a doctor, and how the Taliban's return to power banned women's education. She describes her early life in Joghuri, Ghazni, which she considered safe, and how her father's news-watching made her aware of the war. The first major shift came in 2018 when the Taliban attacked Joghuri, and her father had to take up arms to defend it. In 2019, a more severe attack forced her family to flee their ancestral home with only minutes' notice, leaving behind a family sheltering with them. This experience broke her trust in Afghanistan's historical narrative as a 'graveyard of empires,' realizing it was instead a 'graveyard of its own people.' She fled to Kabul, witnessing poverty along the way and facing discrimination as a Hazara. In 2021, she describes the shocking day the Taliban entered Kabul, seeing the Afghan army flee. Life under Taliban rule changed drastically: she stayed indoors for a month, feared massacres due to her Hazara identity, and observed a crippled economy with increased taxes after U.S. funding cuts. Faiza explains the Taliban's demand for unquestioning surrender, comparing it to a religious concept. She notes increased intolerance among people and specific restrictions on women, including bans on work, education, and travel. Faiza recounts being approached by the Taliban's morality police for her headscarf, an intensely frightening experience. She concludes by expressing the desire for a normal life with civil rights, education for Hazara girls, and a decentralized government through elections. The episode ends with credits and podcast information.

As heard by us

A young Hazara woman's account turns the Taliban takeover into a close story of fear, family, and a medical dream at risk.

Faiza is preparing for medical university when the Taliban returns to power and bans education for women. Accent of Women keeps her account grounded in a single frightening day in Kabul: tanks and soldiers appear, a taxi becomes hard to find, and the trip home ends with a family…

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Why you'd press play

Hear Faiza describe the day Kabul changed: a normal sunny morning, rumors on the street, and then a Taliban checkpoint on her corner.

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