January 5, 2023 9.24 am This story is over 24 months old

Businesswoman leaving Lincolnshire to work with Taliban

She wants to help the Afghan people “to stand on their own feet”

An Afghan human rights activist and businesswoman will leave her Woodall Spa residence to return to the country and work with the Taliban.

Hassina Syed has been living in Lincolnshire with her family since the Taliban took control in August 2021.

She fled on an evacuation flight with her Afghan passport and her British driving license.

Her husband Peter Jouvenal, an ex-BBC cameraman, had been held in Kabul for six months before being released in June.

Ms Syed hopes that her work, and the positive legacy she has built helping women to grow skills and businesses, will help her country progress.

She said: “Everybody was expecting the Taliban would come but not inside the capital. The streets were totally blocked and everybody was in shock.

“We have a lot of hope. We are very strong people… Taliban is controlling Afghanistan and they are the leaders. This is the reality. We have to work with them because of our Afghan people. We can’t ignore them.”

Afghanistan sparked international condemnation after women were banned from universities and girls were excluded from secondary schools since the Taliban took power.