She dreamt to become an Orthodontist, then a bomb blast changed everything

By Laila Yousufy

When Farzana looks at her polarized leg, she chokes, tears falling down her eyes.

She was severely wounded and burnt in an ISIS-K magnetic bomb explosion which targeted a passenger minivan in west Kabul on November 17.

Latifa, Farzana’s cousin and childhood friend, was also wounded in the attack. Both had sat together in the vehicle, heading home from university when it was attacked.

“I and Latifa were talking about our future plans, then suddenly we heard the sound of a boom from inside the vehicle,” Farzana said. “We were both burned. Her clothes were on fire.”

Latifa succumbed to her wounds after two months of struggle between life and death.

Farzana survived. But she may not become the same person again, physically or mentally.

She has lost hearing in one ear. Her right leg was so badly burnt that she can’t walk without someone’s help. Her hairs and eyebrows were also burnt. She is also dealing with depression.
Farzana was studying Stomatology at university before her injury. But she said she may not be able to return to her classes anymore.

“All my classmates go to university, but I can no longer study,” she said last week after the Taliban reopened public universities and allowed female students to return to their classes for the first time since they came to power. “Every time I see photos of my classmates in the classroom, my pain returns, and I want to scream.”

Farzana, 22, is the oldest child in the family of nine. She used to do embroidery at home to supplement her father’s income to help the family financially. But now, she can’t work, and the family is too poor to be able to pay for her treatment expenses. Her father, a daily laborer, doesn’t even make enough to feed the large family.

Doctors have advised that she should go to abroad for treatment. But her family can’t afford it.

Her mother said some people have assisted in the treatment so far. The family has sold anything valuable they had to pay for her medical bills.

“I have sold my wedding ring and a pair of my earrings,” her mother added.

At least eight attacks were carried out on passenger vehicles in west Kabul, a Hazara neighborhood since the Taliban took power in August. ISIS-K has claimed responsibility for most of those attacks which left dozens dead and wounded.

Farzana said memories of Latifa make her own suffering even worse.