{"id":29645,"date":"2026-02-17T20:22:55","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T20:22:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/see-afghanistan-differently-on-a-virtual-tour-with-its-first-female-guide\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T20:22:55","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T20:22:55","slug":"see-afghanistan-differently-on-a-virtual-tour-with-its-first-female-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/see-afghanistan-differently-on-a-virtual-tour-with-its-first-female-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"See Afghanistan Differently on a Virtual Tour With Its First Female Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">Afghanistan\u2019s first female tour guide<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_731632\" style=\"width: 1610px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-731632\" class=\"size-full wp-image-731632 wow-me lazy\" alt=\"Portrait of Fatima Haidari, Afghanistan's first female tour guide\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1064\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.matadornetwork.com\/blogs\/1\/2022\/08\/Fatima-Haidari-tour-guide-afghanistan.jpeg\"\/><noscript><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-731632\" class=\"size-full wp-image-731632\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.matadornetwork.com\/blogs\/1\/2022\/08\/Fatima-Haidari-tour-guide-afghanistan.jpeg\" alt=\"Portrait of Fatima Haidari, Afghanistan's first female tour guide\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1064\"\/><\/noscript><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-731632\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: Untamed Borders<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>I spoke with Fatima via Google Hangouts a couple of weeks before the virtual Afghanistan tour. She discussed working in the country as a woman, along with her harrowing escape from the Taliban. The story is fascinating not only because of her lived experience, but also because of the vision and leadership Fatima has displayed both before the return of the Taliban and since \u2013 from her decision to begin posting about her country on Facebook, leading to her work as a tour guide, to her ability to rebuild in a place far from home.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s start at the beginning. It\u2019s the 2010s, and Fatima\u2019s country is in the midst of a brief but encapsulating period of democratic reform. Afghanistan established the Islamic Republic in 2004 with a new constitution approved by a Loya Jirga, enabling direct presidential elections, including Hamid Karzai\u2019s in 2004 and Ashraf Ghani\u2019s in 2014. This reform also included a bicameral parliament, marking a shift from theocracy to a centralized democratic framework that included concepts previously considered post-revolutionary in the country, such as women\u2019s voting rights.<\/p>\n<p>Fatima grew up in a rural part of the country outside of a town, and always believed there was more to life than the stuttered existence that had been forced upon Afghan women. She began her journey toward becoming Afghanistan\u2019s first female tour guide while she was a university student not far from home, her entry into the profession stemmed from a desire to challenge negative media stereotypes about her country. Fatima created a Facebook account to share positive aspects of Afghan culture, food, and history, hoping to reach people who were curious what life was like in a country that hasn\u2019t exactly been a media darling throughout the 21st century. This eventually led to her first in-person guiding experience when two travelers from Ukraine contacted her to show them her hometown.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was thinking maybe Afghanistan, from another side, needs to be seen positively by the world,\u201d Fatima told Matador. \u201cBefore starting to guide tours, I never knew that being a tour guide is a kind of job or that it would be paid. But then I came to understand, oh yeah, that is a job. \u201d<\/p>\n<p>Following this experience, she attracted the attention of Untamed Borders, who hired her after she successfully guided a group of five people, including the company\u2019s founder, James Wilcox. She notes that she had to self-train on safety measures and professional standards, as she had never been formally educated for the role. This eventually brought recognition from global media outlets, including CNN, and a growing cohort of inbound travelers interested in hearing Fatima\u2019s perspective on Afghanistan.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBeing a tour guide as a woman is so much more difficult because when I was taking my guests around, a lot of people were staring at me,\u201d Fatima says. \u201cSome people were insulting me with words, and some were like, I have to repent, what I\u2019m doing is wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Still, she persisted. Tourism in Afghanistan experienced modest growth, with visitor numbers rising from near-zero post-conflict levels to thousands annually by the late 2010s, fueled by improving security in select areas and promotion of sites like Bamiyan and Band-e-Amir. Fatima and Untamed Borders developed a route from Kabul east to Herat that included stops in both of these \u201chot spots.\u201d Wilcox\u2019s experience serving as a fixer for foreign journalists in this part of the world lent deep logistical knowledge, and when combined with Fatima\u2019s homegrown character, the tours, while drawing a very niche cohort, gained traction.<\/p>\n<p>Fatima even hosted a weekly radio program called \u201cWinner Woman\u201d while she was living in Afghanistan, part of her efforts with her female empowerment organization, with the primary goals of growing women\u2019s awareness and empowerment.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">Seeing Afghanistan through Fatima\u2019s eyes<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_886071\" style=\"width: 1610px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-886071\" class=\"size-full wp-image-886071 wow-me lazy\" alt=\"homes on a hillside in kabul, afghanistan\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1067\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.matadornetwork.com\/blogs\/1\/2026\/02\/kabul-2208855911.jpg\"\/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-886071\" class=\"size-full wp-image-886071\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.matadornetwork.com\/blogs\/1\/2026\/02\/kabul-2208855911.jpg\" alt=\"homes on a hillside in kabul, afghanistan\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1067\"\/><\/noscript><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-886071\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: Pvince73\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Our tour started in Kabul, where Fatima showed us photos of the DarulAman Palace, now in ruins. The Taliban continued to bomb the country throughout its departure from rule, leaving many sacred sites destroyed. We learned of Kabul\u2019s history in Buddhism prior to the arrival of Islam in the 7th century.\u00a0 We saw and learned the origins of the country\u2019s national dish, Kabuli Palaw<strong>, <\/strong>\u00a0a dish a steamed rice with tender lamb or beef, caramelized carrots, raisins, and pistachios or almonds, and she walked us through the city\u2019s iconic Gardens of Babur.<\/p>\n<p>In Bamiyan, we saw photos of the two important Buddhas destroyed by the Taliban in 2001 and learned of the city\u2019s history as the center of Buddhism in Afghanistan. A drone video flew us over the Dragon Valley in the Hindu Kush highlands, where local Hazara tradition says the ridge is the petrified body of a dragon that once terrorized nearby villages, demanding virgins and camels as sacrifice. A still-frame introduced us to <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Buzkhashi, the national sport where the decapitated head of a goat serves as a the goal for horse-bound players to deliver it to a goal circle amid fierce physical tussles, made famous globally by the \u201cNomad Games\u201d tournament in Kyrgyzstan.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>At the Hari Rud River\u2019s confluence with the Jam River in Ghor Provnce, we saw the Minaret of Jam, a 22th-century structure that towers above the waters and landscape below. In Herat, where the tour ended, we learned of the history of red wine production in the region as well as its legacies in pottery, poetry, and music. The city, and the country as a whole, is known for exceptional hospitality, where guests are treated with profound generosity and relevance as part of the Islamic tradition of diyafa. Fatima certainly embodies this.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\">The return of the Taliban, and the decision to leave<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_886073\" style=\"width: 1610px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-886073\" class=\"size-full wp-image-886073 wow-me lazy\" alt=\"kabul airport after bombing\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1060\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.matadornetwork.com\/blogs\/1\/2026\/02\/kabul-airport-2200988755.jpg\"\/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-886073\" class=\"size-full wp-image-886073\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.matadornetwork.com\/blogs\/1\/2026\/02\/kabul-airport-2200988755.jpg\" alt=\"kabul airport after bombing\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1060\"\/><\/noscript><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-886073\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo:  Masood Shnizai \/Shutterstock<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>And then, following the withdrawal of US and NATO troops in 2021, the Taliban returned to power following 10 days of rapid advances and a brutal insurgency. On August 15 of that year, the Taliban entered Kabul, effectively bringing to an end any progress made towards human rights in the country. For Fatima, this meant the end of everything she\u2019d worked so hard to build. As a woman who\u2019d taken the charge to put herself out there as a tour guide, any attention now was bad attention.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was a university student, I was on my third year so I had one more year to to be graduated,\u201d she says. \u201cTogether with 10 of my friends, we had in our town a small organization for woman empowerment. And obviously my job as a tour guide. I had to leave everything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her evacuation was made possible by an \u201cenormous group of people from different countries\u201d who organized fundraising to help her and others get out of the country. On the day of her departure, Fatima arrived to a terrifying environment at the Kabul airport. Here, the problem was not getting a seat on a plane, but actually getting past the Taliban to enter the building.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey were like pushing us back with the air gun shots and a lot of people obviously were fainting because they were not receiving enough oxygen,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p>She made it to the airport and left only two days before a major explosion occurred there.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">Rebuilding from nothing, in Italy<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_886074\" style=\"width: 1610px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-886074\" class=\"size-full wp-image-886074 wow-me lazy\" alt=\"islamic architecture in herat, afghanistan\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1176\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.matadornetwork.com\/blogs\/1\/2026\/02\/herat-2676804059.jpg\"\/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-886074\" class=\"size-full wp-image-886074\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.matadornetwork.com\/blogs\/1\/2026\/02\/herat-2676804059.jpg\" alt=\"islamic architecture in herat, afghanistan\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1176\"\/><\/noscript><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-886074\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Islamic architecture in Herat. Photo:  Sirio Carnevalino \/Shutterstock<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Fatima departed Afghanistan from Kabul. She explains that \u201ceverything happened so fast\u201d because she moved from her hometown to Kabul just as the Taliban began capturing territory. Before being evacuated to Italy, she attempted to get a visa for Spain. Her friends in Spain advised her to go to Pakistan to process the paperwork, but the Taliban took over the country on the exact day she was scheduled to fly to Pakistan, leaving her stuck in Kabul for two to three weeks. Eventually, she secured the ability to travel to Italy, where she now studies international politics and journalism.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOnce I came to Italy, eventually the traumas I have been through started to be bolder and bolde,\u201d Fatima says. \u201cI just eventually came to understand that I\u2019m not well. I went through panic attacks, mental breakdown, and depression.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Studying and guiding virtual tours of her home country have helped her find her footing living abroad. She still believes in the importance of the work she does and in the importance of broadening perspectives about Afghanistan.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s very hard for me to accept I am never able to go back to my country, that the Taliban is there, they closed the doors of schools, universities, and job offices for women,\u201d Fatima says. \u201cAnd I cannot believe we are living in this century. We are still in Afghanistan combating to get our very basic rights, to get a book to study, or to, I don\u2019t know, dream of becoming somebody we want to be.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>During the virtual tour, Fatima added this context as she highlighted the spots she was formerly able to show travelers like us in person. One of her dreams was to learn skiing and biking, the former of which Untamed Borders became the first to organize trips around within Afghanistan. This proved elusive, but she remains positive about any recognition the country does receive in those regards.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI do believe that we, as Afghan people, we always love to have tourists visiting our country,\u201d Fatima says. \u201cBut more than that we love the interaction between tourists and us because we have never been able to travel outside the country because our passport is also very weak.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fatima, however, highlights a painful irony: Foreign visitors can often enjoy the very sites and rights that have been stripped away from Afghan women living there.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs an Afghan or local woman, I\u2019m not allowed to visit certain public spaces like parks, certain parks, or, for example, the big mosques or attractions,\u201d she says. \u201cBut when it comes to for young [foreign] women, they are allowed to do so. I kind of understand if this creates certain sentiments against tourism. Imagine you are you you worked so hard for 20 years to get your most basic rights, and then all of a sudden, it\u2019s taken away from you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As citizens and as travelers, we may not have the power to overthrow the Taliban. But Fatima believes that those who are willing to visit Afghanistan play an important role in keeping the country, and the Taliban, visible. Addressing concerns that visiting Afghanistan is empowering the Taliban, she noted that due to how weak the government is, very little of the money spent by travelers ends up in government hands. Beyond airport tax and other small fees, the vast majority of money spent goes to local business owners and communities, through restaurants and hotels, visiting markets, and shopping in local boutiques.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s important, she notes, not to normalize the Taliban or its actions by posting photos of party members or soldiers on social media. Rather, if one must post, focus on the people and the places that make Afghanistan special. Perhaps most importantly, use your words and your media to dispel the incomplete view of the country that is often portrayed in Western media.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf Afghanistan is isolated, the Taliban can do far worse things than if it isn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">How to help Fatima and women in Afghanistan<\/h2>\n<p>Untamed Borders and Fatima have remain committed to delivering a portion of the proceeds from her virtual tours to an underground girls\u2019 school in Afghanistan. If you\u2019d like to sign up \u2013 a spot on the one-hour tour costs $60 \u2013 you can do so through the Untamed Borders website. Fatima also recommends donating to the Shuhada Organization, an NGO which works to advance women\u2019s rights in Afghanistan, and Afghanaid, which works to help families in marginzlized parts of the country. <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"post-ender wow-me lazy\" width=\"15\" height=\"15\" style=\"width:15px;height:15px;\" src=\"https:\/\/d36tnp772eyphs.cloudfront.net\/assets\/images\/matador-logo-small-2017-bw@3.png\"\/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"post-ender\" src=\"https:\/\/d36tnp772eyphs.cloudfront.net\/assets\/images\/matador-logo-small-2017-bw@3.png\" width=\"15\" height=\"15\" style=\"width:15px;height:15px;\"\/><\/noscript><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Afghanistan\u2019s first female tour guide Photo: Untamed Borders I spoke with Fatima via Google Hangouts a couple of weeks before the virtual Afghanistan tour. She discussed working in the country as a woman, along with her harrowing escape from the Taliban. The story is fascinating not only because of her lived experience, but also because [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29646,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_daextam_enable_autolinks":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29645","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/kabul-lead-2483637095-1.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29645","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29645"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29645\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29646"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}