Syeda Tahmine Mozaffari was born in the spiritual capital of Iran, Mashad in 1982. Her parents migrated to Iran as a result of Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. She acquired higher education in Iran. She writes poetry and prose. She promotes Afghan culture and heritage and protects women rights in general and Afghan refugees in particular.
During my visit to Ferdowsi University of Mashad in June 2019, Tahmine Mozaffari arranged my visit to several refugee women camps, where women told me how Tahmine’s human rights struggle improved their lives. Tahmine strived for Afghan girls education and general needs of the women in the camps. This was not easy in Iran due to international sanctions on Iran for the past 43 years. Economic sanctions miserably affected the refugees lives and there is no sign of any improvement because Iran’s economy has deteriorated due to unfortunate sanctions There is no international bank transactions. Nor rich countries encourage international NGOs to help the people suffering from sanctions in Iran.
Most of the Afghan refugees are in Pakistan, Azad Kashmir and Iran. Many of them have been there for over 40 years. There is a third generation growing up in the said countries, but sadly speaking, neither refugees nor their children have a right to citizenship. They continue to be treated as refugees. There is no sign that their plight will change in the near future. Anybody going to any western country from any race, religion and background, can apply for a nationality after five or so year.
Syeda Tahmina Mozaffari has joined her husband in Austria, where she is most likely to be naturalized after the specified periiod. There is no reason why it can’t happen in Muslim countries. The Arab countries have a vast land and large resources, but may be small hearts. We urge the Muslim Rulers to open up their hearts to humanity and improve their laws and immigration system. Islam is a Universal Faith and it should be seen to be universal by the equal treatment.
