Bahara Ajmal

My father offered his daughters every freedom – and we tried to make the most of that offer. Now I am doing everything I can to repeat this: making the most out of the opportunities that Germany offers me. 

In Afghanistan, I worked as a legal professional. I represented women in court. I went into prisons to provide legal support to imprisoned women. I assisted the families of convicted women. Every day I saw how crucial the role of judges is. They are the ones who decide in the end. In order to fight for more justice for women, I decided to become a judge. From that moment on, I studied every day. On the way to work. In my breaks. In the evenings at home. In 2020 there were 10,000 candidates for the preparatory service for judges: 300 were admitted. I was one of them.  

Every day, judges and state prosecutors were killed in attacks by the Taliban. But our hopes for our country were strong enough, so we did not think about quitting. 

On the day when the Taliban moved into Kabul, I was in court until the judge ended the sitting and sent everyone home. The streets were full of cars, the sky full of planes. Huge numbers of people were trying to leave the city. “Now you have lost everything,” I thought. “Now there will be no courts anymore. Now you have to save your family.”  

My father is dead. My mother, my two sisters and I had been living by ourselves for years, but what would life be like under the Taliban for a household of women? There were so many tales of unmarried girls being kidnapped by the Taliban and forced into marriage. Furthermore, my name, address and telephone number were registered with the police stations and the courts. And: The Taliban had opened up the prisons. Even before this we had received threats from men who had been sentenced because of our work. But back then we had no fear. The police protected us. Now we had no protection. 

Two days later the news came that I would be able to evacuate to Germany. I had never wanted to go to Europe. I wanted to help develop my country and support my mother. But she told me: “You have to go.” 

So I went. I left my beloved Kabul, where the streets used to be full of girls in the morning dressed in black with fluttering white scarves rushing to school and the evenings saw parents and children promenading together. I left my home, Kabul, which was now eerily silent and dark, with just a bare minimum of light powered by generators. 

The first two years in Germany were hard. I had lost everything. My family, my work, my dreams. Other people had been able to take their whole family with them, their mothers, some even their in-laws or adult brothers. I had not. Having to leave my mother behind – that broke my heart. 

At least I was able to have my sisters join me in December. I sat the whole day in front of the refugee accommodation waiting for them. Finally, in the evening, a large bus drew into the courtyard and we were reunited. For one year we lived in a container. In the summer it was so hot – too hot to bear – so after our German lessons we would go to a nearby shopping centre to do our homework. 

Once I had to go to an appointment and could not find the address, so I asked some passers-by for directions. Nobody helped me. After that I stopped asking. I do everything myself. I found an apartment for us and used YouTube to teach myself to cook. At home my mother had always cooked for us. I find my way around using Google Maps. I have learnt enough German to speak at a “very advanced level”, which now has official confirmation in the form of the C1 certificate I passed in 2024.  

Of the women I went to university with who still live in Kabul, many have now married in order to protect themselves from being forced into marriage by the Taliban. Many of them were role models for me – such clever women! Now they are sitting at home, without enough money to buy good food. And the international community, the other countries? Our former allies? They simply let the Taliban do as they like. 

Life is full of injustice. Every day I try not to give up, and instead try to use any difficulties to grow. I have done volunteer work in Frankfurt with ZAN e. V., an organisation that supports Afghan women. One of my sisters is helping in an old people’s home. We may not be able to help our mother, but we can still help others.