Support Meena - Afghan Feminist Refugee
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When Kabul fell to the Taliban in the summer of 2021, Meena knew her life was in danger.
As a young, single woman with a medical degree and an advocate for women's health and education, Meena had broken the conservative rules of her community. So she made a daring and desperate plea to US feminists, writing that "The Taliban and my own family will come for me... Can you kindly save my life? I don't have a way of getting out."
The process of helping Meena and other feminists escape from Afghanistan required many months of around-the-clock work from an amazing global team of feminist activists, coordinated primarily by radical feminist author Phyllis Chesler and international human rights activist Mandy Sanghera. Still, the escape was narrow. Meena was on a Spanish military plane above the Kabul airport on August 26, 2021, when a suicide bombing killed over 180 people. She and her family barely made it out.
Meena is tremendously grateful to all of the individuals who helped save her life, and she's determined to continue her education in the hope of helping other women like her. She earned a scholarship to a top university in America, where she is currently studying for her MSW. However, her troubles aren't over.
When Meena bravely came to America, she did so alone, without any family or financial support. Now, she really needs donations to help with her legal, educational, and survival expenses, including:
- Legal filing fees & other expenses related to her application for political asylum in America (which is being handled pro bono)
- Health insurance and medical care (est. $2800/year)
- School expenses not covered by her scholarship, including books, technology expenses, and other school fees (est. $5,250/year)
- Food, clothing, and travel to and from school
Please consider donating to help Meena remain in the US and continue her education, in defiance of the Taliban and family pressures to end her education and get married. Meena is committed to using the opportunities she has received to help others. She has already succeeded in also helping her mother, younger sister, and grandmother also escape Afghanistan and settle in Europe, and she plans to use her degree to help refugees like herself.
Donations of all and any amount are deeply appreciated.
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This fundraiser is being organized by Mary Kate Fain, an American feminist activist and founder of 4W, the feminist publication where Meena's story was first shared. Funds will be directly sent to Meena.
Organizer and beneficiary
MK Fain
Organizer
Spring, TX
Meena Student
Beneficiary