KABUL (Pajhwok): ZarifaGhaffari, former mayor of MaidanShahr, the capital of central MaidanWardak province – who left the country about six months ago – has returned to Afghanistan.
She says she came back to her country without any political, foreign or project goals and that she would try to work for her people.
ZarifaGhaffari, 27, has served as mayor of MaidanShahr, for about three years during the previous government, and has also worked in the civilian section of the Ministry of Defense.
She left the country with her family after Taliban took power of Afghanistan on August 15 last year and traveled to Germany, but she returned to Kabul on Sunday.
In an exclusive interview with Pajhwok Afghan News, Ghaffari said she decided to move her family abroad after his father was assassinated in November 2020. She said her father was a commander of the former national army.
About her trip to Germany, she said, “Without any coordination with any institution, I already had a visa, but my family members did not have visas, we traveled to Turkey and then Germany with the help of these countries through Islamabad.”
Ghaffari, who heads Assistance and Promotion for Afghan Women (APAW), says her family lives in Germany, but she returned to the country to lead her institution and serve people, particularly Afghan women.
She said that she was happy for her decision to return to Afghanistan and she had no fears from any threats.
“I returned to Kabul alone, without hypocrisy and away from any political, foreign or project goals,” she said. “I missed myself when I left Kabul, but I found myself again when I returned,” she said.
In response to a question whether she was in contact with the current Afghan government before returning?, she said, “I do not need anyone’s permission to come to my homeland. I lived here, I have a house, if we became immigrants, and it was a matter of time.”
However, when asked if she would permanently stay in Afghanistan, she said, “I cannot give exact information about this now, as free and independent Afghan, I give myself the right to decide whether to stay or leave, and this is a very personal decision.”
Ghafari said that APAW is active and assisted dozens of poor women in Kabul with food items a day earlier. “We have never worked for a foreign program, I want to work honestly,” she added.
About her participation in a conference about women’s rights in European Parliament in Brussels this year, she said, “I wanted to be the voice of Afghan women, although I cannot represent the great number of Afghan women, but tried to at least interpret the pain of my family and neighbors.”
According to reports, Ghaffari at the conference said that the former Afghan government had misused the name of women to obtain funds and aid from the international community.
She also requested the release of Afghan women detained by the current caretaker government.
She stressed the need for unity among the Afghan people and called on all Afghans to work together to build their country.
“I do not want more people like me to become orphaned, who would suffer pain when visiting the grave of their fathers and sit there for hours and cry,” she said.
Referring to the assets of Afghanistan frozen by the US, she said, “Unfortunately, the US has once again victimized the people of Afghanistan for something which they were not responsible for, Afghans should be provided with humanitarian services and health, the US wants to take distance from it and give our money to people which we are never responsible for.”
About women’s rights and the government’s performance in this regard, she said, “As a woman, as someone who is a Muslim, I wholeheartedly respect and accept all the religious and Islamic principles, the national traditions of Afghanistan. Education is my right, it is up to the government how it facilitates environment for education, human rights and Islamic rules.”
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