Five women who fled to the United States from Afghanistan recounted their experiences at a panel hosted Tuesday by the University of Maryland’s agriculture and natural resources college.
Posters featuring the speakers lined the walls of Stamp Student Union’s Atrium, and items highlighting Afghanistan’s culture were on display for the event. The speakers shared their first-hand experiences escaping Taliban rule and gaining an education in the U.S.
About 60 people attended the event, according to Jim Hanson, a professor emeritus of agricultural and resource economics at this university and host of the event. Attendees included Women in Agriculture program members, teachers and students.
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All of the speakers were part of this university’s Women in Agriculture program. The program’s Afghanistan Agricultural Extension Project, which was led by the agriculture and natural resources college, ran from 2011 to 2017 and taught women in Afghanistan how to work on farms and speak English. The U.S. Agency for International Development funded the project, according to the college’s website.
Some of the speakers came to the U.S. after the Taliban took over Afghanistan in 2021.
Naveen Hashim, a participant of the Women in Agriculture program, said the Taliban did not allow women to work or go to school, leaving many without the resources needed to sustain themselves and their families.
Hashim, who left Afghanistan to study in Pakistan before coming to the U.S., said the country’s economic turmoil was detrimental to women’s lives.
“Being in the United States starts a new life that I always had dreamed of,” she said. “I am getting many opportunities in my department, so I am very happy, and I can see a very bright future for myself careerwise.”
Hanson said he hosted the event in hopes of communicating the seriousness of the challenges Afghan refugees face.
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During the Taliban’s takeover, the Women in Agriculture program’s efforts shifted to finding a sustainable pathway to help Afghanistan refugees to gain U.S. visas, Hanson said.
“I’m really glad we accomplished what we wanted,” Hanson said. “I think most [attendees] are leaving the room inspired.”
Zyad Khan, co-president of this university’s Afghan Student Union, attended the event and said he appreciated how the panel highlighted the difficulties Afghans face when trying to immigrate to the U.S.
“It’s nice to see the representation of how the Afghan community has grown,” the sophomore computer science major said.
The university’s Women in Agriculture program has also has helped give women jobs and English fluency, Hashim told event attendees.
“Here, I have a sense of freedom,” she said. “I can wear whatever I want. I can go wherever I want. I can do whatever I want. I feel changed.”
