Salima Mazari Tells About The Final Days Of Her Battle Against The Taliban

Salima Mazari—one of the three women district governors in Afghanistan—barely survived the brutal Taliban takeover. THE WEEK has been in constant touch with Mazari during her perilous journey. She opened up from an American military base about her escape, on why she despises the Taliban and the challenges she faced in her life and career

- Rahul Devulapalli

A few days after the Taliban took Kabul in mid-August, I reached out to Salima Mazari. Using a translation app, I texted a basic Persian greeting. Within minutes, I got a reply in English: “Hi! How are you?” The warm response, however, made me uneasy.

She had never texted me in English before, and I had the feeling that she was not comfortable with the language. But then comfort zones had never held back Mazari, who overcame great odds to become governor of Charkint, a district of 32,306 people, in northern Afghanistan’s Balkh province. Charkint’s population used to be more than two lakh strong; most people fled the enduring conflict and subsequent poverty.

Mazari also headed the pro-government militia in Charkint. Unsurprisingly, her name figured prominently on the hit list of Taliban 2.0. I was even more worried about the English text because the internet was awash with speculation that the Taliban had captured her.

Before I could reply to her message, I got a WhatsApp call from her number. “Aap India se hain? (Are you from India)?” asked a man. He said that Mazari’s phone was with him. For a moment, I was worried if he were a Taliban soldier from the tribal lands bordering Pakistan—someone who could speak Urdu.

But when I asked him about himself, he switched the call to video mode. And there was Mazari, sitting on a mat in the far corner of a mid-sized room. Clad in a black burqa, she smiled gently and waved.