Member-only story
How one wife survives after her husband is arrested by the Taliban
Atia FarAzar* authored this narrative for the Zan Times in Persian, and it was translated into English by Rustam Seerat.
This narrative has been told to Atia FarAzar of Zan Times:
Thirteen years ago, my husband joined a special unit of the Balkh provincial military forces. He was always dedicated to serving the people. He spent most of his time fulfilling his duties and rarely had free time to come home. We have three children. Even when our children were sick, I cared for them alone, and no one helped me as my husband was on the front lines.
When the Taliban took power, my husband was terrified of being killed. But we didn’t have the money for him to leave the country. When the general amnesty was announced, my husband was overjoyed and went from Samangan to Pul-i-Khumri city in Baghlan province, where he took a job as a guard at a warehouse. He was paid 6,000 afghani per month, and we managed our household expenses with that income. Every three months, he came home to see us. In December 2022, the Taliban detained him on his way home to prepare firewood and winter supplies.
Everyday, we waited for my husband to arrive. Then, one day, he called from prison and said that the…
