Greetings! My name is Robin Arnett, and I am a social worker located in Bend, Oregon.

I am raising funds to help an Afghani human rights attorney named Fatima (this is a pseudonym to protect her safety) escape the Taliban and come to America through the humanitarian parole process. I am also not using her photo as a way to protect her safety.

All funds will go toward helping Fatima and her family pay for airline tickets and visa permits to safely travel from Afghanistan to the United States - via Pakistan.

Let me give you a little background on why I am doing this, and how your donation can help save the life of a person who has given everything she has to advance global women’s rights.

Fatima was just 9 years old when the United States ousted the Taliban from control of Afghanistan. At an early age, she knew she wanted to use her new-found freedom to help other Afghani girls. So, with the support of her family, she decided to go to law school and become a public interest attorney.

Fatima began her legal career working as a public defender, helping Afghanistan develop a functioning justice system. But eventually, she dedicated her career to helping abused Afghani women sue their husbands for divorce and dowry. This was extremely dangerous work, as women have very few rights in Afghanistan and many of the men involved in her cases were members of the Taliban. It is not an exaggeration to say Fatima was putting her life at risk everyday at work.

When the United States withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021, Fatima was left to fend for herself. The offices of the former Afghan Ministry of Justice were raided and all of her personnel records, including details about her cases and her biometric identifiers, were taken by the Taliban. While desperately attempting to flee Kabul with her mother and younger brother, she was attacked at home by several men with automatic weapons. They opened fire on her house and attempted to enter through her front gate. Luckily, neighbors helped fight off the armed men and she was able to escape.

Fatima then moved into hiding in a rural part of the country, near the home of her parents. For years now she has lived in fear, unable to leave her home without a relative to protect her. She cannot practice law, or talk about her previous work. If she is stopped by a member of the Taliban, she could be identified and arrested. On several occasions, members of the Taliban have searched her home and she was barely able to avoid being captured. Despite all of these challenges, Fatima is still working to make Afghanistan a better place by secretly teaching children in her village how to read.

My amazing cousin, Brendan Bouffard, has been helping Fatima with the legal process to apply for humanitarian parole in the United States for more than two years, and I am sponsoring Fatima and her family as their contact in the United States

Her story has been vetted by prominent international human rights organizations like the International Legal Foundation, Women’s International Network, and Project 620. She and her family were recently granted conditional approval by USCIS, but cannot get final approval unless they are able to escape Afghanistan and make it to a US embassy. Unfortunately, there are no government funds to help her in this process. She must find a way to pay for visas, travel to Pakistan, and flights to the United States, all on her own. Just attempting this journey will put her life in danger, and will cost all of her family’s life savings. Despite these risks, there is no guarantee that USCIS will formally approve her application.

Fatima has fought for women’s rights under the most difficult of circumstances, and now she needs our help. Please help Fatima and her family, and prove that we care about her and the millions of other women across the globe fighting for dignity and self determination.

Thanks for your support!