Please help Afghanistan's yoga teacher in exile

Namaste! I am Srila Devi from Germany, and I am fundraising on behalf of my friend Fakhria Momtaz, owner of Afghanistan's only yoga studio in Kabul. For many years, Fakhria has provided a peaceful oasis to countless women in war-torn Afghanistan, despite threats from religious fundamentalists who claim that yoga is 'haram' and 'unislamic'.

 

Fakhria and her family have been refugees in Pakistan since the Taliban took over Kabul last August. The current situation in Afghanistan is precarious for all women activists, but most notably for women like Fakhria, who are seen as heretics by the Taliban. The Taliban systematically arrest women like her - just a couple of months ago, they came to her office and house, searching for her. Her life and the lives of her team and students who are still stuck in Afghanistan are in danger. She is not even safe in Pakistan, which is another Taliban stronghold.

 

Fakhria, her husband and three children have been in exile in Pakistan without work or income for months. Even though they managed an IT company in Kabul, they now cannot access their assets because of bank accounts being frozen in Afghanistan. For the first three months, the family was supported by an American IT company they used to work with, but this has now ceased. They have been applying for humanitarian visas for different countries, but their applications have not been successful yet.

 

Please help support Fakhria and her family while they try to get out of this precarious situation. Thank you so much for your support! All funds will be sent directly to Fakhria in Pakistan using Western Union.

 

To find out more about her and her work, you can read the following article:

 

https://yogainternational.com/article/view/teaching-yoga-in-afghanistan-meet-fakhria-momtaz

 

or watch this video: