Escaping Talibans - TTPB with Asma Paigeer
Asma Paigeer is an Afghan woman who was raised without gender discrimination. She graduated high school in Afghanistan and continued her undergraduate studies in Bangladesh until the covid-19 lockdown. On August 15, 2021, her life changed as the former Afghanistan government fell to the Taliban. She was forced to escape Afghanistan as her father had worked with the U.S forces for 15 years. In the chaos, she separated from her parents and ended up with her 150 classmates from college in 7 buses. Their buses were denied entry to the Kabul airport by the Taliban several times as the Taliban guarded all the entrance gates to the airport. Asma covertly provided essential information to her father’s former US Army colleague which enabled U.S. forces to locate and rescue all seven buses of Afghan schoolgirls. Her extraordinary story has become the symbol of possibility, bravery, resilience and persistence. She is advocating for Afghan women through sharing her own story to inspire them with hopes of a better future. She is also creating awareness about the harsh realities of Taliban brutality and violence towards women, much of which has not been publicized due absence of free media in Afghanistan. She is living proof of the 20 years of the good accomplished by US forces and NGOs in Afghanistan. According to her, “ I am deeply grateful for those who served in Afghanistan. It may not have been their mission but their presence saved my generation of women. We were educated, and we worked and lived in an environment of equality. I truly want you to know that your presence made a huge difference, and your sacrifices and services will never go unnoticed.” She has been accepted to Virginia Tech and intends to study computer science, artificial intelligence, and FINTECH. Her vision is to develop a modern financial system for a post-Taliban Afghanistan. A modern system to be auditable, taxable, resilient, able to be used by all people. It will replace the current Hawala financial system in Afghanistan, which is easily abused to facilitate human trafficking, bribery, corruption, and money laundering. Asma is optimistic that a stable financial framework will create the necessary conditions for a stock market within Afghanistan, increasing internal investment and leads to economic prosperity. Eventually, it will improve the standard of living for all people. Read more about her: donate for her education link is below 👇🏻 www.asmapaigeer.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/asma-paigeer-a4474117a