I am Fatima Haidari a 24-year-old girl from Afghanistan. I was born in the outlying Ghor province of Afghanistan. For 4 years I was a shepherd and did my school secretly. When I was 10, we moved to Herat province of Afghanistan.
In Herat I made handicrafts to carry out my school expenses. Then I learned English and started a job as an English teacher in JRS (Jesuit Refugee Services) organization. In 2019 I started university in the field of journalism and mass communication at Herat University. After on I got to present a radio program by the name of “Winner Women” in local women radio station. At the same year together with 10 of my friends we stablished an organization for women empowerment called Sun Girls funded by JRS and Peace Village associations. Moreover, we were the first group who stablished a library in our town for the first time.
In 2020 I started my job as a tour guide in Herat Afghanistan. And my story was featured on media outlets like CNN, Telegraph UK, Daily Mail and so on. It was an unaccepted job for females and made me a target for extremist groups, but I have never given up as it was what I loved to do.
In August 2021, Taliban captured Afghanistan and I had to get out of the country since what I have done made me a Target for them. I had to leave behind everything including my university, job, achievements, family, friends and my country to save my life. So, fighting all the horrors of the invasion of Taliban, I finally succeeded to get a flight to Italy thanks to the help of a group of travellers who previously have been to Afghanistan.
I arrived at Italy 24th of August 2021 and settled in Ferrara city for three months. Then thanks the help of a friend I moved to Varese, and I stayed there for three months. I worked as an assistant in MB Italia S.r.l. in that period. Then I moved to Milan and worked as a content creator for a Spanish company called Solo Female Travelers. In September 2022 I won a scholarship in Bocconi university of Milan and started my university again in the field of International Politics and Government. Now I also work as a virtual tour guide to
Afghanistan to continue showing the beauty of Afghanistan to the world plus I have a
YouTube channel to reflect the beauty of Italy to the world.
I have a lot of dreams and goals, but the most important ones are to open schools in Afghanistan in and be an independent-strong woman who creates awareness about positive side of the world. I believe in the beauty of my dreams and always fight to be a changer not a victim of bad situations until God gives me the chance to live the life I am given.
Thanks, Fatima