Words by Sarah Walder (UK Research, Monitoring and Evaluation Lead) and artwork by Louise Dixon (UK Integration Officer)

Just one year ago, Zahra* was living in Afghanistan and working as a university teacher in computer programming. Within weeks, her career was stolen from her as the Taliban swept to power and ruthlessly forced women out of work.

Through Talent Beyond Boundaries’ (TBB) Displaced Talent Pilot, Zahra used her skills to secure a job as a software engineer in the UK. She successfully moved abroad earlier this year for a chance to rebuild her career and her future. TBB’s Sarah Walder interviewed Zahra to find out more about her inspirational story in her own words.

*Name has been changed 

Life before and after the Taliban

Before the Taliban seized power last summer Zahra, who is in her early twenties, felt positive about her life. “We had some rights in Afghanistan. Women could improve and get educated, and everything was going very well.”

“Because I had a job, the situation was not that bad. Within the place where I was living there was not a lot of war and bombing. The city was [quite] safe and I was living with my family so there was no need to go abroad.”

Zahra loved her job teaching computer programming at a small university. She was passionate about coding and dreamed of working as a game developer. 

When the Taliban took over once again, they enforced repressive gender-based rules. Girls above 12 years of age are now banned from attending school and university. Women are barred from working most jobs, holding positions in government and travelling alone. 19 million female Afghans have had these rights taken away. Many are educated, skilled, and once worked as judges, lawyers and engineers while contributing to Afghanistan’s economy, social fabric and the wellbeing of their families and communities. 

“After the Taliban took control, for me as a woman life became just to survive and to breathe”

Zahra recalled her feelings at the time: “They don't allow women to work and that was really tough. There was not any hope for the future, because they don't give any rights for women. So after the Taliban everything changed. They just wanted women to stay at home and not live [the life] they want.” Having no job security and no independence was also a major worry for Zahra.

The journey to the UK 

Zahra’s journey out of Afghanistan began with an NGO coding academy for female coders in Afghanistan. Through the program, she was introduced to employers in the UK. TBB supported Zahra by reviewing her CV and helping her prepare for interviews. She impressed the employers and secured a job working as a software engineer for a gaming company in the south of England, her dream role. 

After receiving her job offer, Zahra was evacuated to a neighbouring country through one of TBB’s partner organisations. TBB and her employer then stepped in to support Zahra’s Skilled Worker Visa application and her journey to the UK. Zahra is one of the incredible displaced people who have arrived on the UK Government’s Displaced Talent Mobility Pilot, a program designed in partnership with TBB. 

“The help of TBB was really good to just get out of there, continue life and see even a brighter future for myself.” 

Living in the UK

Since her move to the UK a few months ago, Zahra has been flourishing in her new role and settling in. 

She feels that her job is even better than she expected. Initially worried about how coding in Afghanistan would be different to the UK, Zahra found this to be a smooth transition as her employer provided her with support to grow and enhance her skills. 

“It is different [between working in Afghanistan and the UK], of course there are more professional people here. Better optimization, coding, there are [more] solutions and I really enjoy this. I'm working with some professional people and I can learn from them and that's really interesting.”

“Life is not just to survive, but to thrive and to do so with some passion”

When asked what she enjoys most about living in the UK, Zahra replied:

“Well, it's safe of course. And women have rights here. That's the enjoyable thing, I can live here and not be worried about what's gonna happen tomorrow, like the situation in Afghanistan. There was war and bombs, everything was really terrible.”

Zahra finds most aspects of life here different compared to Afghanistan, from buying groceries to taking the bus. But she takes these in her stride and thinks it’s good to know different cultures. She also enjoys how her co-workers interact with each other: “They are so respectful to each other. Without considering gender, they can work together and have communication. It’s really good”. 

Zahra’s ambitions for the future are to succeed in her career as a professional software engineer. She wants to achieve this by gaining more experience and learning from professional people in her field. 

“The good impact [of the Displaced Talent program] is that I am living in a place that I have rights. I can work. I have job security. And I can see a bright future for myself”

While Zahra is optimistic about her own future, her thoughts are still with the women of her family left behind. Her younger sister has finished secondary school and dreams of studying medicine, but will not be allowed to go to university. It is devastating that bright women and girls, like Zahra and her sisters, will be confined to their homes with no hope to reach their aspirations. 

15 August 2022 marked one year since the Taliban’s second takeover of Afghanistan. Thousands of skilled professionals like Zahra remain in hopeless limbo and dangerous circumstances. Our mission at TBB is to connect displaced people like Zahra with employers, so they can lift themselves out of displacement using their skills and experience for a better life.

If you are interested in hiring displaced talent, please contact Beth Nichols, UK Partnership Lead, at bnichols@talentbeyondboundaries.org