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Today in Focus

Afghan female MPs fight for their country in exile

Today in Focus

The Guardian

Daily News, News

4.5778 Ratings

🗓️ 17 January 2022

⏱️ 35 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

After a harrowing escape from the Taliban, Afghanistan’s female politicians are regrouping in Greece to fight for their country. Amie Ferris-Rotman reports on the work of the Afghan women’s parliament in exile. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

Transcript

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0:00.0

This is the Guardian.

0:08.8

Today, after a harrowing escape from the Taliban,

0:12.8

Afghanistan's women MPs are regrouping in Greece

0:15.9

and setting up a parliament in exile. Will they succeed?

0:35.5

I was in this Greek migrant centre called the Melissa Network.

0:41.0

It's in a kind of scruffy neighbourhood of Athens.

0:45.7

The walls are decorated with paintings of women refugees

0:49.4

who've come through its doors. It's a very humble, very modest place.

0:54.6

This was no ordinary Saturday morning.

0:57.3

After months apart, 28 Afghan women found themselves together again,

1:02.0

hundreds of miles from home.

1:04.2

Journalist Amy Ferris-Rotman was in the room.

1:08.0

There was a lot of rushing up to each other, deep hugs.

1:11.6

There was floods of tears by more than one of the women.

1:15.9

Lots of quick questions about how did you get out of Afghanistan,

1:20.1

how are your children, how is this person, how is that person.

1:23.4

There was this sense of urgency to this meeting.

1:29.2

These were Afghanistan's women MPs and before the Taliban take over,

1:33.1

they made up almost half of all the women who had sat in parliament.

1:37.2

On that crisp day in November, it was clear they meant business.

1:43.9

They are obviously refugees. They are in exile.

1:48.2

Many of them escaped in horrific circumstances,

...

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