Before the Taliban: National Choir Singer
Tabasum grew up in a world where women were gaining great freedoms.
Tabasum was born after the American arrival in Afghanistan. A close female relative of hers worked in senior role in the western-backed Afghan government. Tabasum and her sister joined Scouting and Tabasum traveled internationally as a representative of Afghanistan’s cultural exchange program.
Tabasum was at the top of her class at a very large school and on-track to fulfill her dream of becoming a neurosurgeon. Three years from high school graduation, Tabasum imaged an incredibly bright future for herself.
Taliban Takeover: Hunted by the Taliban
When the Taliban took over, they immediately came looking for Tabasum and her family. Her relatives – all educated women who worked in positions of responsibility – had to burn their diplomas and government credentials. They knew if the Taliban could identify them, they would cut off their hands. Tabasum and her sister were targeted for forced marriage (a practice used to coerce ‘westernized’ families into submitting to the Taliban’s authority); they fled to Pakistan with an aunt as soon as it could be arranged.
Living in Pakistan: Life in Limbo
Tabasum spent 18 months living in Pakistan waiting (with her sister) to take a next step that would allow her to finish high school and pursue her dreams. For almost 2 years, she was excluded from school. While in Pakistan, she learned English (mostly self-taught with a language app) but had no other educational opportunities. She boarded with a family in exchange for cleaning their house and cooking their meals. After a Pakistani government official began sexually harassing her, Tabasum was confined to the house and forced to serve as an unpaid domestic worker. Tabasum’s sister has been unable to secure a international school placement and remains in this very precarious situation in Pakistan today.
Life in the USA: A move to Chapel Hill (NC)
Tabasum’s lucky break came, at last, after a series of disappointments. A wonderful couple in Denver agreed to host Tabasum and her sister, but a sudden job change for the host family made that opportunity impossible. Thankfully for Tabasum, her almost-host-family reached out to friends and associates and a new opportunity took shape at in Chapel Hill. After being admitted to the Emerson Waldorf School, Tabasum (joined by Fatima) embarked on a journey across the world to Chapel Hill, NC.
The Emerson Waldorf community has been a wonderful and supportive community, but the reality of being here has still been exceptionally hard. Leaving her parents in Afghanistan and with her sister in Pakistan, it’s easy to feel isolated and homesick. Getting back into the swing of academics after 2 years excluded from school was no problem for Tabasum, but getting caught up while also learning in a brand new language is exceptionally challenging. Placing in school as a sophomore, Tabasum is glad to have three years to prepare for college and figure out her next steps in life.
What’s Next: An Uncertain Future
So long as the Taliban remain in charge of Afghanistan, it will not be safe for her to return. But staying in the USA is also challenging.
Tabasum is in the United States as a student. To remain in the USA on a student visa, she will need to progress to college. Though her academic standing will make her a very competitive applicant, as an international student, she won’t qualify for in-state tuition, most forms of financial aid, and she won’t be able to rely on student loans. If Tabasum is unable to pay for college, she will be required to leave the United States.
To achieve her dreams of medical school and becoming a neurosurgeon, Tabasum will need to navigate the very complex process of visa and the US immigration system (which oversees student visas). Simultaneously, she’ll need to navigate college and medical school admissions and the scholarship infrastructure behind those systems. In the meantime, she remains reliant on the generosity of others.