Millions of girls joined Zahra in receiving an education when the Taliban were ousted from government.<\/p>\n
But in 2021, Western forces withdrew from the country and the fundamentalist group quickly regained control.<\/p>\n
“The day the Taliban returned to power, things collapsed in our lives,” Zahra says.<\/p>\n
“It was about the collapse of freedom of women, of hopes for the future.”<\/p>\n
In her book, The Vanishing Girl of Kabul, Zahra recounts the palpable fear she felt as the Taliban took one city after another.<\/p>\n
“It was the most difficult moment of my life, [making] a decision in a minute to leave behind everything that we built \u2013 even my parents, not knowing if I would see them again.<\/p>\n
“Thanks to God, the UK government gave us this chance to be safe, but I still feel like fleeing the country is not a solution. Freedom has a cost.”<\/p>\n
She is now rebuilding her life in the UK with her parents and siblings, and hopes to “find a sense of home”.<\/p>\n
“I will continue telling the stories of Afghan women until they reclaim their rights,” she says.<\/p>\n
“The Taliban is a gender war. Hundreds of women are banned from public space and public life.<\/p>\n
“It is really heartbreaking that history is repeating around us.”<\/p>\n