Teen Afghan girl needs help to start a new life

A 16-year-old girl from Afghanistan tried to take her own life. She survived, but she's still not safe and needs your help to start a new life in Canada.

*Arzo was so distraught about the Taliban's ban on girls education that last year she drank acid. The suicide attempt seriously damaged her oesophagus and stomach, and her family rushed her across the border to Pakistan for medical care.

Arzo's story gained international attention in December when CNN filmed her and her older brother and sister in a rented room in Karachi, where her weight had dropped to just 22 kilograms (https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/17/asia/afghanistan-girl-acid-suicide-taliban-intl-hnk-dst/index.html). She was so weak that her family were preparing for her passing.

After the story aired, people came forward to help, and in January Arzo began medical treatment.

She's now able to eat and has put on an amazing 16 kilograms.

Every day she gets a bit stronger, and for the first time in years she’s excited about the future.

But Arzo’s life is still in grave danger. She can’t go back to Afghanistan where she faces persecution as a member of the Hazara community and is not allowed to go to school. And she can’t stay in Pakistan, which is arresting and deporting undocumented Afghans.

Without a visa, Arzo is vulnerable to exploitation and trafficking. With a visa, she can finally return to study and her dreams of becoming a doctor. CNN ran an update on her story on June 2024. https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/29/asia/arzo-afghan-girl-suicide-attempt-pakistan-taliban-intl-hnk-dst/index.html.

Please donate so we can pay for Arzo’s sponsorship to resettle in Canada, where people are waiting to help her and her siblings start a free life.

*Arzo’s name has been changed for her protection.

After treatment photo: