Mahbouba Seraj, an Afghan women’s rights activist, has announced her decision to leave Afghanistan in an interview with the Indian media outlet Firstpost, published on August 15, coinciding with the anniversary of the fall of Afghanistan.
Seraj said the Taliban’s closure of the women’s shelter she managed was the main reason behind her decision to leave the country. She added that after leaving Afghanistan, she would continue her efforts to support Afghan women from abroad.
In the interview, Seraj said the women’s shelter was closed by the Taliban in December 2025, and the 33 women residing at the facility were transferred to one of the Taliban’s Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs centers.
She said that following the closure of the facility and her failure to reach an agreement with the Taliban to continue its operations, she decided to leave Afghanistan and pursue her efforts to support Afghan women from outside the country.
Seraj also criticized the situation of women in Afghanistan over the past five years, saying that their circumstances have not changed significantly. According to her, women continue to face widespread restrictions on employment, education, and participation in various areas of society.
The women’s rights activist also criticized the international community’s approach toward the Taliban, questioning how the world could engage with a government that, in her view, does not recognize half of Afghanistan’s population.
Before leaving Afghanistan, Seraj urged Afghan women not to lose hope, to remain strong, and to believe in their own abilities and in the goodness of humanity.
Following the fall of Kabul and the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, Seraj remained in Afghanistan and continued her activities despite the departure of numerous civil society activists and critics of the Taliban.
She had previously defended international engagement with the Taliban on several occasions, a position that drew widespread criticism from a number of human rights and women’s rights activists.
Writer:Salima Aryaei
