The Taliban killed my cousin, Farishta in September 2020.

Her crime was that she spoke up for the right to education and other liberties.

That’s what happens to women who dare to dream and by doing so defy the Taliban in my country, Afghanistan. Sign my petition to save women and children from a similar fate.

My name is Adeeba. I am originally from central Afghanistan. Being a school topper with 99.8%, I got admission into the MBBS programme at Herat University. My dream was and is to become a doctor.

Like Farishta, my mother was a civil rights activist who worked on gender issues and received death threats from the Taliban. That’s when our lives changed overnight. We applied for a visa to India and arrived in New Delhi in November 2019. We are registered with the UNHCR as asylum seekers and are awaiting refugee status.

Even as we wait, our lives are better and safer in India. At the very least, as women we can wear what we like, roam around alone without a male relative, study further, get jobs, open bank accounts and drive cars. None of these things are possible anymore in Afghanistan now that the Taliban has taken over. Anyone who defies is jailed and killed.

Today as I work as a translator at a clinic in Delhi, my thoughts are with my country. The news and videos are giving me nightmares. I couldn’t save Farishta but I can do something for the women and children there.

Sign this petition asking the Government of India and all world leaders to grant asylum to Afghan women and children who want to flee the Taliban.

I started this petition on change.org in Farishta’s memory because I believe I will have a greater chance of being heard by people with big hearts. When each one of you raises your voice, the world will hear us.

#WelcomeAfghans