Student Spotlight government. Soon after, she got a second position as the head of Directorate of Martyrs and Disabled Family for the Ministry of Defense, where she worked closely with those who had lost Scholarship student pledges to help those she their children and husbands left behind in the ongoing war. The nature of her work Last August, as most and she has made a quick left her in danger with the University students were transition to academic life. Taliban regime, and she was preparing for a first day of During the semester she evacuated from Kabul in classes, Zakera Azizi was has met many new friends August by the U.S. governboarding a U.S. Air Force and immersed herself in a ment along with more than C-17 cargo plane bound for lifestyle she never could have 120,000 other Afghans and Doha, Qatar, and bidding dreamed of. She’s elated for U.S. personnel. goodbye to her homeland, the chance to earn a masAzizi’s odyssey of her family, and everything ter’s degree in international resettlement continued for she had known. finance, so that one day months—from the camp in Afghanistan was crumshe might launch her own Qatar to a series of others bling before the Taliban nonprofit in support of in Philadelphia, New Jersey, takeover, and Azizi’s work Afghan women. and Virginia—before she as a government advisor for Born in Mazar-i-Sharif, finally arrived in Miami women’s rights had earned in the Balkh province, Azizi after a fortuitous exchange her eligibility for safe pasgrew up with three brothers of emails that resulted in the sage out of the country by and five sisters. Only with the U.S. government. her mother’s strong support Azizi’s evacuation from was she able to obtain an Kabul launched a severaleducation and to study at months odyssey that led the local college. her to a new beginning in To help her family, she Miami this spring semester got a job as an intern with a as one of two recipients U.S. Agency for International of the Global Crossing Development-funded project Airlines Graduate Business working in the revenue Scholarships at the Miami department of the local Herbert Business School. municipality—a place “I want to thank the that she soon saw was rife U.S. government, Global with corruption. Crossing Airlines, and That experience proespecially the University pelled her to seek a series of of Miami for this opporjobs over the next few years tunity given to me and to where she advocated fiercely another Afghan refugee,” for the rights and empowsays Azizi. “I never could erment of women. She have imagined that I could eventually secured a position get this kind of chance to as a senior communication study for a master’s degree. advisor with the Afghan I dreamed of coming to Miami for a visit, and now I’m here to study.” Though English is far from her native language, Azizi is an eager learner,
A Voice for Afghan Women
scholarship opportunity. The business school team that fielded her application knew immediately that Azizi was a truly special candidate— one with extensive and valuable work experience within an extremely dangerous political terrain. The challenge of adapting to a new language, culture, and place remains daunting, but Azizi knows she can draw on her experience to persevere. “I’ve started from zero several times before in my life,” she says. “For now, I need to study hard and to earn this degree. I just want to work and live my life; yet even from here, I can help the women in Afghanistan who are under threat. “They want to try to sing their song, but they can’t talk,” Azizi continues. “I want to tell everyone to give them a chance to learn. I want to be their voice.” —Michael R. Malone
miami.edu/magazine
Zakera Azizi
Spring 2022 MIAMI 15
