New Delhi, July 1 (ANI): Decades of war in Afghanistan has dismantled peace and security in that country, so much so, that many Afghans had to flee from their homeland to safer places.
Today, Afghans find India to be one of the most secure destinations to sustain themselves and earn a livelihood. The influx of Afghan refugees in Delhi is quite high.
ANI spoke to some Afghan women in Delhi. Their stories are heart breaking, but their spirit unconquered and appreciable.
Salma Gul, a 30-year-old Afghan refugee who was volunteering for 'Young Women for Change', a platform for women's rights, was forced to flee from her homeland after she received a lot of criticism from the government and threats from the Taliban. She said that she has come to terms with life in Delhi.
Salma's support for and uplift of women was widely acknowledged back home. She even set up a factory where women were taught stitching and tailoring and encouraged to become self reliant.
Gul says that she first encountered the Taliban in 2013 while organizing a fashion show in Afghanistan. Fundamentalists then forced her cancel the event and leave.
Today, she teaches yoga to several women refugees in Delhi after undergoing professional yoga training with the NGO ACCESS.
Gul supplements her earnings by stitching crochet designs on clothes.
"I do not have class to teach people, but sometimes I help my friends in my house. Most of the women who are refugees in India are in a state of depression. I have told them to avoid medicines and learn yoga to be healthy mentally and physically," said Gul.
Seventeen-year-old Noorma Shakeela was left in an impoverished state when she was shot in her face by her husband who is associated with the Taliban. She fled her homeland in 2013 and is now living with her sister and mother. She aspires to become self reliant.
"I was forcibly married when I was a thirteen-year-old. My husband was associated with the Taliban and when I raised my voice and was about to inform the police, I was shot in the face by my husband," Shakeela revealed.
As per the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) report around 14,000 Afghan refugees are living in Delhi.
