At the young age of 22, Shahgul wears many hats. She is a loving daughter, a caring sister, a budding entrepreneur, a talented clothes designer, and a human rights volunteer working on rehabilitation of displaced and migrant groups with SEHER and UNDP.

Shahgul was only ten years old when she crossed Pakistan’s western border with her parents, in search for a more secure future.

‘The conflict in Afghanistan forced my family to flee first to Ghazni and then towards Pakistan. I have few recollections from that time, but I remember walking a lot and a very cold winter.’ An incident that left a mark on Shahgul’s young mind was the attack on her house in Ghazni which left her brother injured. ‘I remember a loud explosion and then my brother’s agony, the memories are terrifying to this day and my brother still has scars from that time.’

Moving to Quetta, Pakistan, brought with it some sense of relief and security, but resettlement is not an easy task. ‘In Afghanistan we had some land and a consistent stream of income, but in Quetta everything was new and as a family we struggled to make ends meet. I was sent to learn carpet making when I was eleven years old, even though I wanted to go to school but my family just couldn’t afford it.’

A few years later Shahgul’s brother decided that she was too old to work outside, and it was not fit for her to leave the house, she was asked to give up this job and stay at home.

This stay-at-home situation, however, did not long last. Shahgul had learnt that she was a natural at working with fabrics so she enrolled at a local training center that taught young women sewing and stitching. Her family especially her elder brother, was very apprehensive of her ambitions that would lead to her venturing outside the safety of the house. She recounts how her family became more concerned when she began working as a human rights volunteer to support the rehabilitation of migrant groups and displaced persons together with SEHER and UNDP.