Afghan refugee Nasibah is now an obstetrics surgeon in Iran, an achievement she and her family never felt possible.



Afghan refugee Nasibah Heydari sits in her office. With hard work and determination, she has achieved a dream by qualifying to become an obstetrics surgeon in Iran.

Following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, Nasibah’s farmer father, her mother and older sister fled to Iran from a small village in Kandahar province. After several days walking across mountains, rivers and deserts, they sought refuge in north-east Iran. Empty-handed, they settled in the city of Mashhad, where Nasibah was later born.

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“The chance to access education from primary school to university is the greatest service that Iran has extended me and many other refugees in this country,” said Nasibah. Her story is just one example of how Iran, with the support of UNHCR, tries to provide support to refugees through education, health, vocational skills and opportunities so they can eventually help rebuild their own country.

There are more than 840,000 Afghan refugees living in Iran. The Iranian government assists refugees with medical services, education, literacy classes and also employment.

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Nasibah hopes peace and stability will prevail in Afghanistan so she can return. “When I go back I will take many good memories from Iran and I will be grateful to have had the opportunity to have lived and studied in peace and security for such a long time. I hope in the future, I will be able to help women back home with the knowledge I have acquired in Iran,” she said.

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