Issued on: 14/08/2022 – 11:55Altered: 14/08/2022 – 12:03
August 15 marks one year since the Taliban conquered Afghanistan. FRANCE 24 has spoken to refugees who have fled the country. In episode four of our special reports series, we meet Fatemeh Abdali, whose medical studies were interrupted when the Taliban took Kabul. She is now starting to learn French again so she can go back to medical school one day.
When the Taliban took over Kabul on August 15, 2021, the studies of 23-year-old medical student Fatemeh Abdali came to a sudden halt. She had arrived at her university that day to take an exam, but was sent home. With the help of her sister, who was already living in France, she was able to escape from Afghanistan within days. Fatemeh is now taking classes at the French Immigration and Integration Office to improve her French so that she can continue her studies.
Many other female students also fled to France. One of them is Soraya Karimi, who represented her country in handball. After the capital fell, she and her teammates received a letter warning that they would face severe penalties in accordance with Sharia law if they continued to play, so she left.
Soraya seems to be speaking on behalf of Fatemeh as well as the rest of their friends when she says to FRANCE 24: “I hope by being here we can stand up for the women who stayed in Afghanistan under the Taliban rule and their voices all over the world. world.”
Fatemeh concludes by saying that she hopes one day to return to her country when it is free from Taliban rule as a qualified doctor who speaks fluent French.
Click on the player above to view our special report.