A female Afghan activist who fled to the United Kingdom after working on Western-backed women’s empowerment projects has had her asylum application denied, with the U.K. Home Office declaring it would be safe for her to return to Afghanistan, The Guardian reported.
The woman, identified as Mina (a pseudonym for her protection), said she had assumed her case would be approved based on her background: she is Afghan, female, and worked extensively on international projects supporting women. “The refusal was an absolute shock,” she told The Guardian. “Now every day I fear being sent back. Having a normal life here looks like a dream. I’m really suffering mentally.”
Before the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021, Mina had worked with Western governments and trained women across the country. She said she had undergone security training for scenarios such as bombings or kidnappings. “Every day I was a few minutes or a few seconds away from bomb blasts,” she said.
The U.K. Home Office had previously granted asylum in similar cases, particularly for women who had engaged in high-profile efforts to promote women’s rights. But new data show a significant shift: in the final quarter of 2024, 26 Afghan women had their asylum claims rejected. In total, 2,000 Afghan asylum seekers were denied during the same period—up from just 48 a year earlier. The grant rate for Afghan asylum cases fell from 98.5 percent in late 2023 to 36 percent by the end of 2024.
The decision in Mina’s case cited a lack of evidence that she would be at risk. The refusal letter stated: “It is considered that you do not face a real risk of persecution or harm on your return to Afghanistan on the basis of your claimed adverse attention by the Taliban.” It added that she likely had “a great support network due to your occupation.”
However, The Guardian noted that many of Mina’s former colleagues are either in hiding or have already fled Afghanistan, and such support systems have largely collapsed. The letter concluded: “There are no compassionate factors in your case that warrant a grant of leave to remain outside the immigration rules.”
“When I arrived here I felt safe,” Mina said. “I thought I would have a chance to live. In Afghanistan, I had not been considered a human.”
Jamie Bell, Mina’s solicitor at the law firm Duncan Lewis, criticized the decision. “It’s shocking that 26 Afghan women were refused asylum in the last quarter,” he said. “But this is a particularly upsetting case where the Home Office states that a woman who risked her life defending women’s rights in Afghanistan would not be at risk on return.”
The U.K. Home Office declined to comment on the specific case, saying it does not provide public statements on individual asylum decisions.
The 2025 Human Rights Watch report on Afghanistan documented a significant deterioration in conditions for women and girls under Taliban rule, including increased restrictions on education, employment and freedom of movement.
