Was Kobra Handed Over to the Taliban?
No one answered us there; I could only hold her hands through the bus bars and begged the police officers, but it was no use. They put her in a bus and took her away
According to Mohajir Times, quoting Sharghdaily—Nasrin Farrokh: No one had the chance to say goodbye to her; everyone only saw one scene: the only girl in the camp, along with other Afghan men, was put in a car and headed for the border. Her friends began to beg and plead with the police officers, but it was useless, and by tomorrow, Kobra might be handed over to the Taliban regime.
Kobra Gholami, a social researcher from Afghanistan and a master’s student at AL Zahra University, was unexpectedly deported after receiving a hijab warning. This incident was widely shared by several social activists on social media yesterday. The young woman, who organized numerous conferences supporting women and children as a social activist, now needs help to prevent her deportation.
Bring Her Back
“Kobra Gholami was deported alone and without her family, and according to social activists, she couldn’t even speak or say goodbye to her family and loved ones. She had all her residency documents and was studying for her master’s degree at Alzahra University. Deporting women without their families is rare. We are worried about Kobra’s safety on the way and after arriving in Afghanistan.”
One of Kobra Gholami’s friends, a social researcher from Afghanistan, described her deportation to Sharghdaily: “She called us and said she was at the camp because she had received an SMS regarding her hijab, and when she went to the immigration office to renew her residency card, after two months of follow-up, they called her to come in-person. When she got there, they immediately invalidated her passport and said she was being deported because of a judicial ruling. She told me all this over the phone, and after the call ended, around 2 PM, I went to the camp near Standard Square in Karaj. No one answered us there; I could only hold her hands through the bus bars and begged the police officers, but it was no use. They put her in a bus and took her away. Kobra was the only woman being deported; all the others were men. Even other Afghan women who were there with their husbands were surprised that a woman was being deported alone. The soldiers there didn’t engage in any conversation with us…”
This young woman hastily recounts everything, from the bus that left to the worry for young Kobra, the only woman among many deported men. Kobra’s friend resumes her story: “Kobra was in the process of graduating from university, and all her documents were complete; otherwise, she couldn’t have been working on finishing her university and getting her degree.”
Now, the active girl who worked in the social field needs help herself, and her friends talk about her activities: “Besides social science research, she also volunteered in NGOs. She was active in literacy and helping Afghan women and children in the Sar-e-Chashmeh neighborhood, and she had previously held several conferences named ‘Red Rose’ in the Khavaran Cultural Center, which several media outlets, including Etemad and Mehr News Agency, covered. These cultural activities were to familiarize the people of Iran and Afghanistan with each other’s customs and culture, explaining, for example, the differences in their Nowruz celebrations…”
We Are Helpless
Despite many social activists following up on Kobra’s case, no positive result has been achieved so far. Therefore, a group of social activists, with the cooperation of the (Navid Kosha Life Institute,) wrote the following letter regarding Kobra Gholami:
“The Navid Kosha Life Institute is an independent, non-governmental, non-profit, and non-political organization that has been working for more than two decades to reduce and eliminate child labor in affected areas of Tehran, Sistan and Baluchestan (Zahedan, Saravan, Zabol, Koutij), and Isfahan province (Kalamjoun). This is to inform you that Ms. Kobra Gholami has been participating in tutoring classes at the Kosha Institute since childhood, and years later, she volunteered as a tutor in the Kosha Institute library, teaching literacy and reading and writing to child laborers, out-of-school children, and undocumented children, and organizing recreational camps and children’s festivals. It is worth mentioning that she is a master’s student in social sciences at Alzahra University and has legal identification documents. Please reconsider the deportation of Ms. Kobra Gholami if possible.”
Broken and Imperfect laws
Despite having all the necessary residency documents for living in Iran, Kobra Gholami was deported to Afghanistan without any legal process by invalidating her passport due to the hijab issue, and she is to be handed over to the Taliban government in a few hours, which could pose a life-threatening danger to her. Last year, the Director-General of the Bureau for Aliens and Foreign Immigrants Affairs of the Ministry of Interior stated in an interview: “Foreign nationals are required to adhere to the country’s current laws. If they commit crimes or offenses, they will be deported after going through a process.
Those foreign nationals who do not comply with the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran will be deported after a legal process. Foreign nationals should follow up on their matters personally by visiting registered centers and offices. Foreign nationals are legally obliged to comply with the country’s current laws. Therefore, according to the Islamic Republic of Iran law, if these individuals commit crimes and offenses, they will be apprehended by the relevant authorities and deported after addressing their crimes. It is obvious that undocumented individuals, as soon as they are identified, are considered criminals and will be expelled from the country.”
