Afghanistan’s first-ever female airline pilot, who was lauded as a mark of progress in the battle for progress on women’s rights there, has been accepted for asylum in the United States.
Niloofar Rahmani travelled to the US in 2015 to receive training. She said she and her family were facing threats from the Taliban, the militant group that has waged a decades-long war against the Afghan government.
The US paid for her travel and her training. Now, Washington says it remains too dangerous for her to return to her home country.
She applied for asylum in 2016, but only received the news on Monday, the same day that a twin suicide bombing claimed by ISIS killed at least 26 people, including nine journalists.
“I’m really happy and thankful to all the people who made this happen,” she told The Wall Street Journal. “All I want now is to go back to my dream of flying”. [The National] Read more
