Prominent Female Afghan Politician Fawzia Koofi Safely Evacuated Following Her Taliban Imposed House Arrest

Shah Marai/Getty Images

Fawzia Koofi, an Afghan politician and women’s rights activist, has been safely evacuated from the country after she was placed on house arrest by the Taliban.

Lolwah Rashid Mohammed Al-Khater, a Qatari diplomat, took to Twitter to share the news on Monday, writing that Koofi has landed on a Qatari Air Force and will soon be reunited with her two daughters.

I’m glad to announce that sister Fawzia @fawziakoofi77 has just landed on a Qatari Air Force flight to be reunited again with her 2 daughters, who were safely evacuated to Qatar in earlier evacuations. Thanks to everyone in Afghanistan who facilitated, and those who asked. pic.twitter.com/lL5MiVHht1

— لولوة الخاطر Lolwah Alkhater (@Lolwah_Alkhater) August 30, 2021

“I’m glad to announce that sister Fawzia @fawziakoofi77 has just landed on a Qatari Air Force flight to be reunited again with her 2 daughters, who were safely evacuated to Qatar in earlier evacuations,” she wrote. “Thanks to everyone in Afghanistan who facilitated, and those who asked.”

CNN’s Clarissa Ward, who consistently made headlines for her reporting on Afghanistan’s fall to the Taliban, also shared her excitement for Koofi’s safe return:

Some rare good news. I interviewed @FawziaKoofi77 while she was under house arrest in Kabul with Taliban guards outside her door. She was a picture of courage and composure. Today she’s reunited with her daughter, thanks to the efforts of Qatar and many others. https://t.co/zx0EVbgfDd

— Clarissa Ward (@clarissaward) August 30, 2021

“Some rare good news,” she wrote. “I interviewed [Koofi] while she was under house arrest in Kabul with Taliban guards outside her door. She was a picture of courage and composure. Today she’s reunited with her daughter, thanks to the efforts of Qatar and many others.”

Ward spoke to Koofi for a CNN segment looking into how women are “bracing for life under Taliban rule,” in which Ward explained that the Afghan politician has negotiated with the Taliban amid their peace talks with the government.

“I’m concerned for my daughters and all the girls of Afghanistan,” Koofi admitted to Ward. “I don’t want history to repeat itself on them very brutally.”

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