Taliban issue 'death warrant' for Afghan woman divorcee residing in India

By Mohammad Suaib Khan
New Delhi, Aug 25 (IANS) After the Taliban took over complete control in Afghanistan, they have now issued a public death decree for an Afghan woman, who had left the worn-torn country four years ago and is now settled in India. She had divorced her husband after she found that he was allegedly an active member of the Taliban.

At present, Hayat (name changed) lives in New Delhi along with her two daughters. However, her other two daughters have allegedly been sold by her husband to the Taliban.

According to Hayat, the Taliban has now issued a death decree on her due to which she fears returning to Afghanistan.

After the Taliban's occupation of Afghanistan, the women there are scared even as thousands of Afghan people are fleeing to other countries.

Hayat works as a gym trainer in Delhi with the help of which she has built a home for herself, including her two daughters. In a conversation with IANS, Hayat shared her grief and said her husband had sold two of her daughters earlier to the Taliban.

She lives with her other two daughters aged 13 and 14 years.

She said that after her marriage, she came to know that her husband was a part of Taliban. "My husband tried to stab me four times the scars of which are still visible on my head, neck and fingers."

"I do not have an information about my two other daughters who have been sold to the Taliban. My husband told me that he will sell my other two daughters as well after which I was forced to leave Afghanistan fearing for my life," Hayat added.

Asked if she would like to return to Afghanistan, Hayat insisted that she will never return to her native country. "The Taliban have come out with a 'death warrant' for me. They will take away my other two daughters as well. The terrorist group has said 'Money has been spent to buy the children, now they are ours'. I can't return to Afghanistan fearing a threat to my daughters' lives," Hayat said.

Asked how she managed to escape from Afghanistan, she said, "At that time Afghanistan was not captured by the Taliban, I applied for my visa, before that I had visited India once so I had a little knowledge. Many people had helped me a lot then."

Asked how she learnt to speak Hindi, she replied that she was so fond of talking in Hindi she learnt it by watching Bollywood films.

She added, "Today Afghanistan is completely in shambles, I am happy staying in India but I have yet to make my refugee card."

"We need the help of the Indian government as other Afghan people shy away from coming before the media to raise their voice against the Taliban that's why I am talking on behalf of them."

She said, "My father, who lives in Iraq, has received multiple letters threatening him to call me back to Afghanistan, even the Taliban has been telling him that they have traced my location."

According to Hayat, she wanted to divorce her husband which was not easy in Afghanistan. Her father and other family members have been receiving continuous death threats, but leaving everything behind she managed to divorce her husband and successfully fled to India along with her two daughters.