Afghan medical students arrive in Scotland to complete studies

Nineteen female medical students banned from attending university in Afghanistan are to complete their studies in Scotland.

They were forced to give up medicine after the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan three years ago and clamped down on women’s rights.

Lewis-based charity the Linda Norgrove Foundation worked with UK and Scottish governments to arrange visas and places at medical schools.

One of the students, Omulbanin Sultani, said: “We endured one thousand days of suffering to reach this point. One thousand days of being confined to our homes, of having our voices silenced with nothing but tears and sorrow, our lives wasting away.”

The Linda Norgrove Foundation highlighted the student’s plight last year.

But it said efforts to bring the women to the UK were delayed by bureaucracy and regulations.

Conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East complicated matters further due to the pressures they placed on government, the charity added.

It has thanked the Scottish government and UK government’s Scotland Office for finding ways to overcome some of the major challenges involved.

The foundation was set up in memory of aid worker Linda Norgrove, from Uig in Lewis, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2010.

It has raised £60,000 so far to cover the cost of getting the 19 women to the UK and accommodating them in Scotland.

The students arrived in Edinburgh earlier this week.

The women said there were times they feared for their lives.

Ms Sultani said: “But throughout these harsh and unbearable days, the only motivation of light in our dark world was the presence of the Linda Norgrove Foundation, who stood beside us and never let us feel alone.”

Student visas were used as an alternative to the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme to get the women to the UK.

The Scottish government amended student funding regulations which allowed the women to be treated as home students.

The foundation’s John Norgrove said: “We’re all delighted to have finally succeeded after so much frustration.

“Finally these 19 incredibly talented young women get their future back with the opportunity of a tremendous education and a career.

“The alternative for them in Afghanistan wasn’t good.”

Kirsty McNeill, Under Secretary of State in the Scotland Office, praised the charity’s determination.

She added: “I’m very pleased that, by working together, we have been able to bring them to Scotland.”

Scottish Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said: “These inspiring women will now be treated as home students, meaning they will benefit from free tuition and living costs support here in Scotland.”

The Big House Multibank, Amazon UK and Cargilfield School in Edinburgh have been among organisations supporting the effort.

Over the last 14 years, the foundation has raised more than £3m to fund projects for women and girls in Afghanistan.

It has also supported refugees to resettle in Scotland, including in the Western Isles.

Linda Norgrove was kidnapped by the Taliban in 2010 and died during an attempt by the US military to rescue her.

Her parents John and Lorna set up the charity later that same year.