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Heart and Soul

The Taliban wanted me dead

Duration: 27 minutes

First broadcast: on BBC World Service Americas and the CaribbeanLatest broadcast: on BBC World Service East Asia

Available for over a year

Marzia Babakarkhail knows what it's like to have the Taliban break her door down intent on killing her. In 1997 they did just that because of her work promoting education and progress for women. She was forced to flee and now lives in the UK. That work continues and has never been more important.

As the last of the US military presence leaves Afghanistan Marzia tells her story to Matt O’Donoghue, how she rose to become a judge at 26 and was forced to flee and live under threat of death.

But she says her faith never faltered and she carries its strength in the UK where her humanitarian work continues in Manchester. Her fear now is that the progress she has fought for will be ripped away as the Taliban violently grab more and more control of her troubled homeland. Show less

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