TRAILBLAZER
Providing education and surviving assassination Women and girls were banned from educational institutions during the 1996 – 2001 Taliban rule .
It was in the months following 9 / 11 , at the beginning of the War in Afghanistan , when Koofi began her political career . She first endorsed a female education campaign ‘ Back to School ’ and the next year became a UNICEF Child Protection Officer .
In 2005 , she served as a parliamentary representative for Badakhshan province , the remote , mountainous region where she was raised .
During the peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government , Fawzia met with the group and personally urged them to interact with female negotiators , but the Taliban laughed at her suggestion . They may have been embarrassed by Fawzia ’ s presence , after two failed assassination attempts against her .
Afghanistan remains one of the most dangerous countries for women Fawzia has faced threats to her life before . Her parents wanted a son and left their newborn daughter in the Badakhshan mountains to die , until her mother changed her mind .
Now , the Taliban have eroded decades of progress in a matter of months . Desperate families have fled the country , fearing that
20 January 2022