I Only Want to be Treated Like a Human Being

Editing by Trisha Leimer

Photography by Christophe Mortier

I was an Afghan woman living in Iran. My parents fled to Iran in the late 1970’s, when their little town was taken over by the Taliban. I was born in Iran. As a woman, and especially as an Afghan woman living in Iran, I had no rights, no freedom to choose my path.

My family and I had to leave everything and flee again because our lives were once again threatened by the Taliban—even in Iran. Now I am an Afghan woman living in Germany.

I only want to be treated like a human being. I just want to be free and to live in peace and safety.