A precious chance to study medicine in Glasgow
Glasgow University offered Sara a lifeline. Her visa application was filed days before the UK Home Office introduced a freeze for students from Afghanistan, Sudan, Myanmar, and Cameroon in March 2026. Her teachers consider her an exceptional, dedicated student. She secured funding. The university expected to accept her onto an access course. This is a pathway to a full degree. Why did UK State Secretary Shabana Mahmood and her officials go to such lengths to block her?
Sara says her life has been a relentless string of challenges. She survived a suicide bombing at her school. She escaped her father’s attempts to force an early marriage. Taliban patrols roamed the streets of Kabul. She made a hair-breadth escape from the country. She evaded capture by Pakistani police. Yet it was the UK Home Office, which champions women’s rights, that dealt the most fatal blow.
Defying tradition and finding support
Sara grew up in a poor household in Kabul before the Taliban’s return. Her violent father wanted her to follow the traditional path of adolescent marriage. She fought to continue her education. Female teachers at her co-ed school encouraged her to dream big. „The community I come from is very traditional,” she says. „Even among my relatives, I found no girl who was educated. While the boys were free, my mother, who always supported me, was told by relatives that instead of pursuing education, I should go somewhere to be taught to cook. After a relative’s daughter got married, I was told I was next on the list.”
At school, she saw life could be different. „I was about seven when one of our teachers first encouraged us,” she says. „Later, my physics teacher was very supportive. She said we would face challenges, but never give up on chasing our dreams.” Sara is still in touch with schoolmates inspired by their female teachers. Some now fly high in other countries, having been awarded full university scholarships. Others had their ambitions crushed. „I can still see the face of a 15-year-old girl who was like a supportive big sister to me at school. She wanted to continue her education, but she was in tears one day at school and told us her family was forcing her to leave school and get married.”
From loss to determination
When Sara was 15, her beloved uncle died after his heart condition was misdiagnosed. In that moment, she vowed to become a doctor. „My uncle was such a good soul. He always supported me when my father was harsh. ”It’s okay. No matter what your father does, I am with you,„ he used to tell me.”
Sara poured everything into her schoolwork, scoring near 100% on tests. She speaks multiple languages. She is Hazara and speaks Hazaragi, Dari, Pashto, Urdu, English, plus some Spanish and Arabic. Despite her father’s displeasure, she continued studying. She attended Kankor, a university entrance exam prep center in Afghanistan. In October 2020, it was the target of a suicide bombing. She felt unwell that day and did not attend school. Many friends were killed.
Escaping pressure and seeking new paths
Against the odds, in February 2021, she passed the exam. She secured her place at Kabul University’s medical school. She was overjoyed – until the Taliban took power in August 2021. Devastated but undeterred, she began volunteering at medical clinics in Kabul. She commuted with supportive clinical staff. She hid in a car when approaching Taliban checkpoints. When Taliban members came for treatment, she hid in the staff room until they left. She continued studying medicine at home. She begged friends to send PDFs of medical manuals. She devoured Gray’s Anatomy.
By 2024, life at home with her father became increasingly violent and dangerous. Pressure on Sara to marry grew. „The situation deteriorated so much that we were forced to find a way out,” she says. Sara hoped she could pursue her medical studies in Pakistan. So before leaving Afghanistan, she