On August 15, 2021, after a 20 year occupation of Afghanistan by the United States, the Taliban recaptured the capital, Kabul. The United States fully departed the country two weeks later, on August 30th.

In the last year, the Taliban has sharply rolled back basic human rights. Women, in particular, have been severely impacted. After 20 years of education, jobs, sports and other fundamentals that we take for granted, women are once again barred from nearly all basic activities outside the home or even traveling outside of the home without a male relative. Hear their voices here: Afghan Women Reflect on the Anniversary of the U.S. Withdrawal.

Additionally, many women are suffering from trauma at both an individual level and collectively, with a medical system that barely recognizes their humanity and, literally, does not provide even basic services for them because of their gender.

The Virtual Death Doula Network (VDDN), Inc. 501(c)3 has recently started working with a university-educated Afghan woman, ‘Fahima’*, who had full-time, professional employment prior to the Taliban takeover. Fahima is now in hiding from the Taliban and teaching girls in secret, while working her way through the back-logged and understaffed Special Immigration Visa (SIV) program set up by the US Department of State to get people like her out of Afghanistan and to safety.

Daniel Shaw, COO of the VDDN, met Fahima while volunteering with ‘Raise Our Voices’. ROV acts as an advocate for those utilizing the SIV program, giving them a voice with which to reach out to the US government. Together, Daniel, with the support of VDDN CEO, Andrea Sugar, and Fahima have set up a program to provide grief support and counseling to the women in Afghanistan who need it most. The VDDN is a new nonprofit, formed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to serve those in need. The virtual focus of that work has led the VDDN to focus on services like providing grief support. Fahima identifies Afghan women that need this support while doulas at the VDDN, led by Andrea and Daniel, provide that support over Zoom. Daniel is serving two such women already.

The VDDN has the potential to help a LOT of women who can really benefit from this service. We need your help. While we are reaching out for grants and to organizations like the USAID, anything you can give now goes to immediately supporting this effort. As a registered nonprofit, ALL DONATIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE. You can make a difference now.

* Personally Identifying Information of women participating from Afghanistan are withheld for security reasons. Contact Daniel Shaw (daniel.shaw@virtualdeathdoula.net) for more details.

VDDN: Grief Support in Afghanistan

By Virtual Death Doula Network

VDDN: Grief Support in Afghanistan

Help Women in Afghanistan Now

Team Members