One year after Kabul falls to Taliban, Bay Area refugee reflects on losses for women and girls
Belmont, CA - When the Taliban re-took control of Kabul, Afghanistan, on August 15, 2021, it meant an immediate end to the university education of one Afghan woman who now calls the Bay Area home.
One year ago Marmar Hakim was a student in her third year of college. Today, thanks to the help of one local university, she has resettled here in the Bay Area.
"We lost our freedom, we lost our flag, we lost our country and we lost our identity," said Hakim, 21, and now a resident of Hayward.
Hakim says things were going well for her until the Taliban returned to power. Literally overnight she had to stop her studies and go into hiding with her mother.
"After 15 August 2021, especially women and girls, they cannot continue their education, their schools," Hakim said.
Hakim’s mother worked for an agency that provided help to the U.S. military, so the two were able to get a visa to come to the U.S. Hakim said the journey was long and the life left behind still difficult to grasp.
"That is very painful for me because that was my dream, to complete my education in Afghanistan," Hakim said.
Hakim and her mother made it to the U.S. with help from a group called the International Rescue Committee and housing and living assistance from Notre Dame de Namur university in Belmont. The University was the first in California to be allowed to grant degrees to women, and the first on the West Coast to participate in an Afghan resettlement program called "Operation Allies Welcome."
"As everyone knows education can only be successful if an individual’s basic needs are met first – housing, food, security. By providing these things we can put individuals on a track to long term success," said Beth Martin, President of Notre Dame de Namur University.
The university has several available graduate level apartments which are ready-made for families. For two months Hakim and her mother lived on the campus before they found a more permanent housing situation in Hayward.
So far, five Afghan families have passed through this campus.
"We see what happens when we have courage amongst community. Together we can do so much," said Mizgon Darby, Communications Director with the International Rescue Committee of northern California.
Hakim hopes to eventually become a dentist.
"I want to study, I want to continue my education. And that is the first step of my life – my future," Hakim said.
The university hopes to expand the resettlement housing program and will also offer its graduate level educational resources to future refugees if they are studying for degrees in programs which the university offers.