By After Kabul fell to the Taliban militants in August, thousands of Afghans were forced to flee the country. Many were taken to the West by countries like Britain or the United States. Others had to look to neighboring countries for a place to start a new life.
One such group of people were a women’s youth soccer team, who had fled to Pakistan. Females playing sports, whether recreationally and competitively, are seen as an act of resistance to the Taliban. Because of this, many female athletes fled the country quickly, as they feared the wrath of the Taliban.
Many of the team’s families were killed, and their houses destroyed, so fleeing was their only safe option. However, Pakistan was not their final destination. The members of the team managed to quickly secure UK visas, which meant they would be able to start afresh in the UK.
But despite obtaining the visas, most of the 130 girls on the team came from poor families who couldn’t afford a ticket for everyone.
The team got in touch with a non-profit U.S. organization called Tzadek Association for support. Its founder Rabbi Moshe Margaretten knew exactly who to look to for funding the tickets for these families.
Having previously worked with her, Margaretten spoke with reality star Kim Kardashian West, and she agreed to fund the entire flight for the women’s soccer team.
Along with Leeds United Soccer Club in England, Kim helped to give these young women better and safer lives.
However, this is not the first time Kardashian provided humanitarian assistance to those in need.
In October 2017, Kardashian helped release Alice Marie Johnson, a 66-year-old criminal justice reform advocate and the author of After Life: My Journey from Incarceration to Freedom, from a life sentence over charges of conspiracy to possess cocaine as soon as she came across Johnson’s case over Twitter.
Ever since her success in Johnson’s case, Kardashian resolved to help other people in need.
“I think now, having gotten so deep in helping Alice, I’m really motivated to get to know the law more and fight for people who deserve a second chance like her,” she said during a May 2019 episode.
With the help of human rights lawyer Jessica Jackson Sloan, Kardashian could help commute prisoners who were given life sentences.
“That’s probably the six or seventh person in particular that have cases Kim’s advocated for that have been released,’ Sloan said about David Jassy’s case. “And she’s only been doing this for a few years!”
The team arrived in London last week to start their new lives as British citizens. We wish them all the best in the future!