Refugees UK
In August 2021, Maryam's life changed forever when the Taliban took control of her home city, Kabul in Afghanistan. She had to leave behind her home, family and the job she had worked so hard for.
Maryam had been building her career in architecture and urban design, working on projects across the capital, including a series of women-specific shopping centres and design of the new Kabul Zoo.
“I loved everything about my job," Maryam recalls. "I was happy that I was doing something useful. That meant a lot to me. I was making a change, especially in a field that is so male-dominant in Afghanistan."
Maryam’s journey to the UK
For eight months after the Taliban took control, Maryam stayed in Kabul, but with hopes of continuing her studies, she had to leave everything behind, carrying only a backpack, to pursue her dreams.
"Leaving Afghanistan was not an easy decision for me and for my family, but it was necessary," Maryam says. "My education has always been a priority for my family."
Maryam lived with her mother, father and three siblings in Kabul, Afghanistan before she was forced to leave her home and her career behind.
Photo: Clara Collyns for the IRC
Maryam's journey took her first to Kazakhstan for six months to study. From there, she secured a prestigious Chevening scholarship to pursue a master's degree in International Planning and Sustainable Development at the University of Westminster in London.
Rebuilding in a new city
Arriving in the UK was a culture shock for Maryam: "It hasn't been easy. It has been a bit challenging. When I first arrived here, the new culture, the new environment, I had to start from scratch."
After hearing about the IRC from a friend, Maryam has received support from our employment support team and has attended the Job Readiness training, which provided her with crucial information about the UK job market, as well as CV and application reviews, job and educational opportunities.
“As a freshly graduated Urban Planner, it was a bit challenging for me to find job opportunities,” she says. “I have been applying for a lot of job opportunities.”
Maryam has been supported by the International Rescue Committee's employment team in the UK.
Photo: Clara Collyns for the IRC
Maryam is currently a freelance Urban Planning Consultant, working remotely on a sustainability initiative in Kazakhstan, where she previously lived, contributing to a Green Cities Action Plan for Shymkent City.
Finding peace in art
Maryam has also found peace in art, creating acrylic paintings that help her process her experiences.
"Art has been like free therapy for me," she explains. "For a long time, I was in a state of shock. I couldn't focus, I couldn't do anything useful. It was difficult for me to deal with day-to-day life. But after I started expressing my feelings through art, it gave me a break from reality."
Maryam loves working with bright colours and especially enjoys painting small streets around her new home.
“I love going to a random street in London and doing some architectural sketches,” she says. "I also like to show some hard realities of Afghanistan or women in Afghanistan, through my paintings.”
After leaving her whole life behind in Afghanistan, Maryam has found peace in creating artwork and particularly loves working with bright colours.
Photo: Clara Collyns for the IRC
Volunteering with other women
Despite being thousands of miles away, Maryam still feels a connection to women in Afghanistan and currently volunteers with Daricha, an initiative providing online training in architecture and urban design to Afghan women.
"We are working to provide training and mentoring for female architecture and urban design students," she says.
The impact of this work has been incredible, not just for the students but for Maryam herself.
“The girls are very passionate, they're working so hard,” she says. “One of the girls messaged us and said that since she started the sessions, she feels alive again for the first time in a long time.”
Looking to the future
As well as volunteering and working part time, Maryam is also part of the IRC’s Community Advisory Board, which was created to ensure the voices of people with lived experience are at the centre of all our work. Along with 11 other leaders, Maryam is guiding the IRC in identifying needs, developing strategies, and reviewing IRC policies.
IRC client Maryam is working with Daricha, an initiative which provides support and mentoring to female architect and urban design students in Afghanistan.
Photo: Clara Collyns for the IRC
“I'm really passionate to work with those who are refugees who had to flee their countries,” she says. “That's why I joined the IRC, I would really like to be able to support people who have come to another country to gain control of their lives, especially girls.”
The importance of women's education is very personal for Maryam. "I believe that education is as important as the air that we breathe, but especially for women," she says. "Because women have the ability to change society."
Looking to the future, Maryam dreams of one day returning to Afghanistan to use her skills and knowledge to help rebuild the country she loves.
"I hope that one day I will be able to return to my country and work there because there's a huge need for architects and urban designers who have information about the architectural identity of Afghanistan. After a decade of war, we have lost a lot of the monuments and architectural heritage.That's why I decided to study this field”.
What is the International Rescue Committee?
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) helps people affected by humanitarian crises to survive, recover and rebuild their lives. We work in over 40 crisis-affected countries.
The IRC in the UK
In addition to helping people in the midst of crises around the world, the IRC helps refugees living in the UK recover and rebuild their lives. Read about our UK programmes.
