Afghan judge who fled Taliban rule meets Australian women who helped evacuate her family

An Afghan judge has met face-to-face in Brisbane with the four Australian women who helped her and her family escape from the Taliban as they took over Afghanistan.

An Afghan judge who says the scariest night of her life was when the Taliban came to her apartment complex the night Kabul fell has met face-to-face with the Australian women who helped her escape the country.

Shakila Abawi Shigarf, 61, spent 25 years as a judge in Afghanistan before fleeing when the Taliban took over in August as US-led coalition troops withdrew forces, following two decades of conflict, in a chaotic mass evacuation effort.

Besides Taliban members, many of the other people she had jailed for crimes including rape, murders, terrorist attacks and more were also soon released, increasing her fears of being attacked.

Like many others who worked with coalition forces or in the legal profession, Judge Shakila and her family went into hiding.

Weeks later, the former head of the Afghan Women Judges’ Association and her family were among several Afghans – including 13 other female judges – granted emergency visas to come to Australia thanks to the efforts of volunteers, including two Brisbane women.

Judge Shakila Abawi Shigarf has escaped Afghanistan thanks to a team of Australian volunteers. Picture: Supplied

Judge Shakila and her son, who translated for her, were guests Thursday at an Australian Association of Women Judges function to celebrate the inaugural United Nation’s International Day of Women Judges at the QEII Courts of Law Complex on George St, Brisbane.

In a previously supplied and translated written statement, Judge Shakila said she was at work at 9am on August 15, the day the Taliban took over Kabul.

“All staff rushed out of the court to get home safely before the Taliban could come inside and kill us or harm us. We left everything behind, we didn’t even get time to grab our personal belongings,” she said.

She walked home because one-way traffic blocked the streets as thousands tried to flee, arriving about 5pm after taking back roads to avoid being stopped or identified by the Taliban.

“It was the most bizarre situation. All I was thinking of was to reach home and make sure my family is safe,” she wrote.

Humanitarian and social justice advocate, Kay Danes OAM – who has worked in aid, government and other roles in Afghanistan and around the world for several years – said she had already been working with covert US ground troops to help evacuate others, months prior to the takeover, when she was asked to also help the judge.

Federal Circuit Court Judge Susan Purdon-Sully, NSW District Court Judge Robyn Tupman, Afghan Judge Judge Shakila Abawi Shigarf, President of the Land Court of Queensland, Fleur Kingham and humanitarian and social justice advocate, Kay Danes OAM of Brisbane. Picture: Kay Danes

She said Judge Shakila could not safely leave via coalition evacuation flights because by then most of the Hamid Karzai International Airport was under Taliban control.

“Judge Shakila couldn’t go via the Kabul airport as she would have been killed. She was a high value individual,” she said.

Mrs Danes said Brisbane-based Federal Circuit and Family Court Judge Sue Purdon-Sully, President of the Land Court of Queensland, Fleur Kingham and NSW District Judge Robyn Tupman came together with counterparts from the International Bar Association to help evacuate Judge Shakila, her family and several others from about mid-August.

The Alexandra Hills resident said Judge Purdon-Sully contacted Judge Tupman, an International Association of Women Judges member and former president of the Australian Association of Women Judges, who in turn asked the humanitarian for help while she started advocating for Temporary Protection Visas to Australia.

Mrs Danes was already trying to assist in the evacuation of about 1200 Afghans – including family members – who had worked for the Australian government, when Judge Tupman asked her for assistance.

Chaotic scenes outside the airport Kabul in August as people desperate to escape from Taliban rule flee to the airport in August. Picture: Supplied

Weeks later, following several unsuccessful evacuation attempts, Judge Shakila, her family, and other at-risk Afghans were flown out of the northern city of Mazar-i-Shariff on a private plane chartered by the UK’s Baroness Helana Kennedy, the IBA’s director of human rights.

By October, following a stopover of a couple of weeks in Greece, the judge, her family and others arrived in Darwin where they went straight into hotel quarantine in line with of Australia’s Covid-19 regulations.

In her written statement, Judge Shakila said she was grateful for being accepted into Australia.

She said when the Taliban came to her apartment block that night in August, they questioned people and confiscated bulletproof cars owned by neighbours who worked in the parliament and other government agencies.

“That was the scariest night of my life, we feared for our lives and we thought there was no way we could survive, once the Taliban showed their true colours,” she wrote.

“They showed in the media and kept saying they will not harm anyone but we have been there and have lived life under the Taliban in the ’90s.

“The female judges were always under threat but it was worse after the Taliban took over because all the prisoners were released, these were the prisoners we had issued decisions of imprisonment.”

Kay Danes OAM, NSW District Judge Robyn Tupman (back) and President of the Land Court of Queensland, Fleur Kingham. Picture: Kay Danes

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Queensland, Catherine Holmes AC, who spoke at the Brisbane event, introduced Judge Shakila and her son and acknowledged the danger female Afghan judges, in particular, faced.

“There was a forewarning when two women judges murdered in January 2021,” she said.

“The situation for women judicial officers, as we know, has become dire.

“We particularly honour the brave women of Afghanistan who continue to need our assistance.”

The two judges were assassinated as they were driving to their office in a court vehicle, according to a spokesman for the Afghan supreme court at the time.

Ms Kingham, who also spoke, said four of the Afghan judges had settled in Sydney, with the remainder moving to Melbourne.

“This inaugural day is bittersweet. … because they have fled their countries in fear,” she said.

“They’ve lost their homes, their careers, their purpose and they had no choice but to leave some loved ones behind.

“It’s sweet because at least they, and some of their family, have found refuge here.

“There were some 250 women judges in Afghanistan. … Personally, I mourn the enormous loss for their colleagues and members of Afghanistan.”

Ms Kingham welcomed the women and their families to the country.

“They’ve all had a hard journey getting here to Australia but they are all doing extremely well,” she said.
“They will all make fantastic citizens, they’re all brave women and we welcome them to Australia.”

Afghan Judge Shakila Abawi Shigarf (fourth from the right) and her family when they arrived in Greece after being evacuated from Afghanistan thanks to a group of Australian volunteers from the legal fraternity, including two Brisbane women. Picture: Supplied

Mrs Danes, a 2014 Order of Australia (OAM) medal recipient for service to the community, said celebrating the judges was important.

“Celebrating Afghan women judges is so poignant because they fought so long and so hard to for recognition in Afghanistan, to be recognised as women and as women judges, to enhance the legitimacy of Afghan courts,” she said.

“They’ve worked for transparency and inclusiveness and lawful judicial systems.”

The Taliban, an Islamic fundamentalist group labelled as a terrorist group by the United Nations, ruled Afghanistan for five years before the US-led military forces ousted them in 2001 following the September 11 attacks on America.

It took the group less than two weeks to take control of Afghanistan as the US, Australia and other allied forces ended their 20-year presence in the nation.

Mrs Danes, who also works with Canberra-based Gap Legal Services, said she was still trying to help 1082 at-risk Afghans, including family members.

She said their names had been provided to Minister Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs, Alex Hawke, but they still remained in hiding in Afghanistan.

Mr Hawke has been contacted for comment.

According to the Department of Home Affairs, the Australian Government has granted more than 8,500 visas to Afghans under Australia’s humanitarian program since 2013.
That figure includes more than 1,800 visas approved for Afghans who fell under the ‘Locally Engaged Employees’ category, or those placed at risk of harm due to their employment in support of Australia’s mission in Afghanistan.