Recipient of a full scholarship in Canada
Munira is a 29-year-old Afghan woman who is passionate about medicine and learning. She completed her six-year medical degree in Kabul in 2019. Before the Taliban seized power in 2021, she was gaining practical experience at a family clinic and had hoped to complete a Master’s in Health Sciences shortly thereafter.
Once the Taliban enforced a nation-wide ban on women’s pursuit of higher education, her dreams of furthering her studies were crushed. However, she was grateful to be one of the few women that found meaningful employment approved by the Taliban. In 2022, she became a livelihood officer for War Child Canada (WCC). In this role, Munira worked on the World Food Program’s projects in Afghanistan. However, as of April 2023, all women were banned from working for the United Nations and Munira was forced to resign.
Munira finds the measures imposed by the Taliban outrageous and is worried that each new rule is becoming more and more oppressive, especially to women.
She remains determined to help Afghanistan transform into an egalitarian society, and refuses to give up on this dream. It is this commitment that drives her opposition to the Taliban. To this day, she continues to organize lessons to teach Afghan women how to read. She also helped establish a network of safe houses that help and protect Afghan interpreters and veterans who are targeted by the Taliban for their service to Canada. Munira works hard to provide them with medical care, administering COVID-19 vaccines, caring for trauma victims and much more. Munira has, so far, looked after over 1,700 patients, including the elderly, children, and pregnant women.
For the Refugees is committed to helping Munira complete her studies in Canada, so she can become a cardiologist and achieve her dream of running her own clinic in Afghanistan.