A WOMAN who fled Afghanistan to pursue her childhood dream of becoming a doctor has said Scotland is now her second home.
Muzhda Iqbal said she had “lost all hope” after the Taliban banned women from university education.
In August 2024, she joined 18 other women who were brought to Scotland to study medicine as part of a scheme by Scottish charity The Linda Norgrove Foundation, along with the UK and Scottish governments.
The 27-year-old met up with her fellow Afghans in Edinburgh at a reception hosted by Scotland Office minister Kirsty McNeill.
Speaking to the PA news agency, Iqbal said she has “experienced such wonderful kindness” since moving to Dundee, where she now studies.
She said: “My hope was telling me just go and continue your education, and the future you always dreamed of.
“So, I made this decision and my family encouraged me to become a doctor because it was my childhood dream.”
Iqbal said her aunt had died in Afghanistan while pregnant because her family did not allow her to see a male doctor while there was a lack of female doctors.
“It was the hardest, disappointing, most heartbroken day in my life that I lost my auntie because of lack of female doctor,” she said. “And it made me strong in my decision to become a doctor.”
She said she hopes to go back to Afghanistan one day when it is safe. Until then, she is enjoying her time in Scotland.
“I’ve experienced such wonderful things,” she said. “The kindness. The people are very friendly, kindly and they welcome me warmly, and they make me feel like I belong here.
“It’s a very positive thing that I experience here because I’m far away from my family, even though sometimes they’re not giving me the sense that I’m away, I have a family here and second home in Scotland.”
Omulbanin Sultani said Scotland has given her opportunities that are not available for her in Afghanistan.
The 22-year-old, who studied at St Andrews, wants to become a dermatologist and, one day, move back to her homeland.
She told PA she misses her family – who she has not seen since July 2024 – “so much” but manages to contact them over the internet most days.
Sultani is safe now in Fife but she said it was not easy to leave the Taliban’s rule.
“We were not allowed to get out without a male partner,” she said.
“It was challenging to deal with the conditions where you’re not certain you’ll be able to do the opportunity you can only get once in your life. It was difficult.”
The student said it was after she finished her second semester at university in her home country that women were banned from education. Six months later, the Linda Norgrove Foundation stepped in.
“It was a great feeling,” she said. “When you lose something, and you know how valuable it was, and you get it again, you get that feeling.”
Sultani said she had heard while in Afghanistan that Scots were “famously friendly”. Staying here for the past year, she says that has proven to be true.
She said: “When we first came here we were walking around Edinburgh and it was an atmosphere of friendly people, a place where everyone is respected and here where we are in St Andrews it’s so international and friendly.”
The medical student even enjoys the Scottish weather, saying: “It’s unusual but I love it. Where I come from it’s hot and when you come to this weather, you like it. I hear people don’t like it but I love this weather.”
McNeill, a minister at the Scotland office and MP for Midlothian, said it was important to celebrate the 19 Afghan women landing in Scotland a year ago on Monday.
She said: “This will be transformational for the 19 students involved.
“Of course, they had lifelong dreams to be doctors, and here in Scotland we’re helping them to fulfil them.
“We can’t solve every problem, but the problems that we can solve through schemes like this, we will always try to.”
McNeill said the first year had been a success, with all 19 women continuing their studies into second year.
She added: “We’ve given all the support we can and they’re still here and they’re thriving.
“They’re incredibly resilient women, as of course you’d have to be.”
