Women’s rights activist recounts pain of leaving Afghanistan

By DANIEL NIEMANN
Associated Press

DUESSELDORF, Germany (AP) — A former mayor of a central Afghanistan city is in Germany after having fled her homeland along with thousands of others who feared the Taliban’s takeover put their lives at risk. As a young female mayor appointed in 2018, Zarifa Ghafari was a shining example of the new Afghanistan that many of the nation’s people hoped would emerge after the hardline Islamist group first was driven from power. Three years later, the 29-year-old Ghafari spoke Wednesday about the pain she felt as she and her family prepared to fly out of Kabul following a harrowing effort to reach the airport. “I am not sure my tears will be able to explain it,” she said.