The fall of Kabul to the Taliban was a foreboding moment for Zarifa Ghafari, one of Afghanistan’s first female mayors. As Taliban fighters descended on the Afghan capital, she realized her life was suddenly in grave danger. Days later she fled with her family to Germany and has told the story of her dramatic escape. Ghafari had become a prominent public official and voice for women’s rights and a threat to the Taliban, who are known for restricting the role of women in line with their strict interpretation of Islam. “My voice has the power that no guns have,” she said.

Security has been a constant concern for Ghafari in recent years. She has survived several attempts on her life since 2018, when aged 26 she became mayor of Maidan Shar, a conservative town where the Taliban have widespread support. Animosity towards her culminated in the killing of her father late last year. He was a senior member of the Afghan military and Ghafari suspects he had enemies in the Taliban. When the Taliban swept to power in mid-August, Ghafari decided the time had come to leave the country.

During the journey to Kabul airport, she hid in a footwell in the car, ducking for cover every time they passed through a Taliban checkpoint. Now safe in the German city of Düsseldorf, Ghafari acknowledges she was one of the lucky ones as the scenes around Kabul airport became increasingly dangerous.

“I’ll never be able to manage the pain inside my heart. I never planned to leave my country,” she told the BBC. She has vowed to meet politicians and world leaders to draw attention to the lives of Afghans living under Taliban rule.