The young woman is sitting on her bed and looking at the camera with a sad look. She wears a black headscarf and says: “We are at home and don’t dare to go back to work or to university”. Najma Sadeqi († 20) studies journalism and is a passionate Youtuber.
Four days after the Taliban came to power, she uploaded her last video, as reported by CNN. «Life in Kabul has become extremely difficult, especially for those who were previously free and happy. With this video we say goodbye, ”she says.
The 20-year-old speaks for all other young women who are the same as you. With tears in her eyes, she says, “I wish it was just a bad dream, I wish we could wake up one day. But I know that is not possible … the reality is that we are finished. “
Died on the run
A few days later, Sadeqi tries to flee Afghanistan with her brother and cousin. But they never make it out: The three died in the terrorist attacks near Kabul airport along with over 170 other people. Two colleagues confirmed this to CNN.
Sadeqi was at a journalism institute in Kabul for the last year of her studies. The 20-year-old gave her viewers weekly insights into the lives of young women on YouTube. The videos showed them in colored clothes cooking or carefree with friends in Kabul – with happy music in the background.
For Sadeqi, YouTube was more than just a hobby – the student used it to finance her daily life and was even able to support her family financially with her income.
“We are afraid of being targeted”
Her death shook a large community of young YouTubers who, in the two decades since the end of the Taliban regime, have enjoyed the freedoms granted to Afghans.
Sadeqi usually stood in front of the camera with her friend Rohina Afshar. But the two were forced to record their final messages separately – they were too afraid to leave their homes. Like many other Youtubers, Afshar had gone into hiding before the attack on Kabul airport.
In recent years, Youtube has developed into an important platform in Afghanistan. It offered budding journalists like Sadeqi and Afshar a valuable platform to earn a living. But that came to an abrupt end in the last few weeks. A Youtuber told CNN: “We stopped producing new material because we were afraid of being targeted, intimidated or injured.” (gin)