Afghan Woman Forced To Flee By Taliban Offers Virtual Tours Of Homeland

After being forced to flee Afghanistan by the Taliban, Fatima Haidari now offers virtual tours of her homeland from Italy. The proceeds from the tours are used to fund secret English classes for women in Afghanistan.

Residing in a student flatshare in Milan, Italy, the 24-year-old Haidari leads the cyber-tourists around Herat. She uses Zoom to show the virtual tourists the grand mosque, the citadel, and the bazaar.

Suggested Reading: Afghanistan Educator Detained For Speaking Out Against Education Ban On Women

Afghan Woman Gives Virtual Tours

Fatima Haidari worked as a tour guide in Herat until the Taliban took power in August 2021. She currently studies international politics at Milan's Bocconi University.

Haidari spoke with AFP about offering virtual tours of Afghanistan and said, "When you hear about Afghanistan, you think of war, terror and bombs. I want to show to the world the beauty of the country, its culture, and its history."

Haidari's virtual tours are organised through the British tour operator Untamed Borders and a third of the money made goes toward funding secret English classes for women in Afghanistan. The Taliban imposed harsh restrictions on women, including banning female students from secondary schools and universities.

Fatima Haidari faced insults after she became the first female tourist guide in Afghanistan. The local religious leaders accused of her "doing the devil's work" and boys threw stones at her in the street.

Haidari spoke about how when she was younger, she would take her family's sheep out to grace and secretly listen to ongoing school lessons.

She worked for three years to raise enough money for classes and textbooks and persuaded her parents to allow her to go to university.

When the Taliban arrived, Haidari was warned by a local tour operator she worked for that she might be a target and fled the nation.

She revealed that she still dreams of returning to her homeland and setting up her own travel agency which will hire women as guides. Haidari also added, "as long as the Taliban are in Afghanistan, it is no longer my home".