{"id":193,"date":"2025-09-29T13:38:24","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T17:38:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/migration-reporting2025\/?p=193"},"modified":"2025-11-07T15:43:22","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T20:43:22","slug":"berlin-memo-afd-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/migration-reporting2025\/berlin-memo-afd-questions\/","title":{"rendered":"Berlin Memo + AfD Questions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over the past few months, I have worked on a couple stories about female Afghan migrants in the U.S. Through this reporting, I have learned more about the Taliban\u2019s restrictions on women\u2019s rights, and especially its exclusion of women from education and sports. The Taliban\u2019s current limitations on women\u2019s rights constitute what Metra Mehran, an Afghan activist living in Virginia, has called \u201cgender apartheid.\u201d<\/a> Yet the international community has failed<\/a> to intervene in the Taliban\u2019s human rights abuses.<\/p>\n

As women flee this oppressive regime, they face new restrictions on immigration. Germany is a salient example. In July, the country suspended<\/a> humanitarian admissions for Afghans, leaving many left stuck in Pakistan, where they had been waiting for visas and flights out. Germany resumed deportations to Afghanistan, and in July, sent 81 Afghans<\/a> to their home country after rejecting their asylum applications. This was the second deportation since the Taliban took over in 2021.<\/p>\n

Those deported from Western countries may face new risks in Afghanistan, said Wahid Wafa. Contact with the West may be grounds for the Taliban\u2019s persecution. These vulnerabilities are heightened for Afghan women, especially those who have engaged in activities that are banned at home, like sports. In Berlin, I hope to follow the stories of women who face the risk of deportation. I am especially interested in the situation of high-profile women who faced persecution in Afghanistan before immigrating.<\/p>\n

Nazira Khairzad was a goalkeeper for the Afghan women\u2019s national team before fleeing the country in 2021. Khairzad immigrated to Italy and moved near Frankfurt in 2024. Her family eventually joined her, including her sister. The sisters, Nazira and Nazima, were both athletes in Afghanistan, despite the dangers women in sports faced. Though reunited, they confront new challenges in Germany. Today, Nazira may face deportation to Italy. In April, DW reported<\/a> that \u201cNazira\u2019s deportation back to Italy is therefore likely to stand.\u201d There has not been anything published about her since then, and I am interested in finding out where she is now.<\/p>\n

Nazira recently gave me her number via Instagram and we are in touch on WhatsApp. I hope to follow her story, exploring the broader vulnerabilities Afghan women face in Germany. While in Berlin, I will conduct interviews with Afghan women, German politicians, activists, and refugee support organizations. This story will be about one family\u2019s struggles to escape persecution in Afghanistan. More broadly, it will focus on the way anti-immigrant sentiment enables the Taliban\u2019s human rights abuses. As follows is a list of potential sources.<\/p>\n

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