Living with eight sisters and one brother in a traditional, religious family wasn’t always easy, but Saima found joy in her studies — and in football, which she played secretly so her parents wouldn’t find out. When the Taliban banned girls from attending school, her dream of education seemed to collapse overnight. Yet Saima refused to give up. She found new ways to keep learning and to rebuild her hopes for the future. 

How did she do it? How does it feel to live far from home, waiting for a new beginning in another country? And what does it mean to her to be Hazara — a girl, an athlete, and a student — from Afghanistan?

Are you a teenager from a conflict zone, now living in your home country or abroad and want to be interviewed for the Over the Globe podcast? Contact us at: over.the.globe.join@gmail.com

Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/overtheglobepodcast?igsh=b3h3cWF5a2tkeGV

Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61559944706107

Follow us on X: https://x.com/Over_The_Globe