On Monday, the French Office for Immigration and Integration announced that five Afghan women, who had been under threat from the Taliban in Afghanistan, will be received in France.
After a harrowing escape to neighboring Pakistan, where they had sought temporary refuge, the women are now finding shelter in France.
The plane carrying these Afghan women is set to land at Roissy Airport after they fled the Taliban regime that regained power in Afghanistan in the summer of 2021. These individuals include a former director at the University of Sciences, an advisor to a non-governmental organization, a television program host, and a teacher at a clandestine school in Kabul.
Tragically, all of them were unable to evacuate Afghanistan on Western airlifts when the Taliban resumed control. One of the women arrived accompanied by three children.
Following directives from the French President, special attention is being given to women primarily threatened by the Taliban due to their significant societal positions or close ties with the West.
Didier Leschi, director of the Office of Immigration, stated about the incoming women, “This is their situation.” He emphasized that the Operation Afgahan (Evacuation of Afghans to France) is ongoing, and such evacuations “are likely to be repeated” for other Afghan women in similar circumstances.
Upon arrival, these women will initially be housed in a reception center in Paris, where they will be registered as asylum seekers. Later, they’ll be relocated to long-term accommodations while the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons assesses their cases.
In the summer of 2021, President Emmanuel Macron pledged France’s unwavering support for Afghan women amid the evacuation efforts. As per official records, from spring 2021 to the end of July 2023, France has evacuated 15,769 individuals.
