Shabana Basij-Rasikh always wanted to go to school, even if she and her friends had to dodge the Taliban to hold classes. Now, after studying in the US, she’s back in Afghanistan helping other young women get the educations they need to improve their country.
Serving as a local interpreter for the US during the war in Afghanistan was a deeply risky move. It was like putting a target on your head for Taliban fighters. The US promised to help interpreters, but for two of them, the road to their holiday lunch this week reunited in the US was long and complex.
When Rezagul’s son died in a Taliban attack on a police checkpoint, she literally look matters into her own hands. The story of her seven-hour gun battle, in which she killed 25 Taliban fighters, has drawn rare unified praise from conservative and liberal voices in the country.