They Fled Afghanistan Together—and Now They’re Graduating

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After escaping the Taliban, nine women matriculated on the Hill; the first to complete their degrees are in the Class of ’25

By Melissa Newcomb

It took days, immense bravery, and several loops around the airport by bus as gunfire erupted around them for the group of young women to escape Afghanistan when the Taliban took over in August 2021.

Their final attempt came at 1 a.m. One of them, Simah Gul Sahnosh ’25, had been in the hospital with a kidney infection when she got the message they were leaving. Despite excruciating pain, she recalls, her choice was clear: she would go.

The group—150 in total—made it out on one of the last civilian flights from Kabul. They assumed they were headed back to their college campus, the Asian University for Women in Bangladesh, to complete their studies; its president had facilitated the journey, with the group communicating through WhatsApp.

“Education is the most important and most valuable thing in my life,” says Khadija Monis ’25, echoing a sentiment shared by Sahnosh and many of their fellow travelers. “It has always been my dream.”

But they weren’t, in fact, headed to Bangladesh.

It wasn’t until the plane was well on its way—and for some, even until it touched down in Washington, DC—that they knew they were coming to the U.S.

“I was happy, because at least I was safe—but I was afraid, because I didn’t have any friends, family, or support here,” says another member of the group, Khurshid Hussainy ’25. “This is a big country; where were they going to take me?”

For nine of the women, the ultimate answer was the Ithaca campus.

I was happy, because at least I was safe—but I was afraid, because I didn’t have any friends, family, or support here. This is a big country; where were they going to take me?

Khurshid Hussainy ’25

Now, nearly four years later, six of them are poised to graduate with the Class of ’25, while the others are continuing their undergraduate educations on the Hill.

Due to the dramatic disruptions in their lives and studies, it has been a longer journey to a bachelor’s degree than for most of their classmates: each of the women earned a high school diploma around a decade ago.

“To be the only girl from my whole family graduating; I can’t find a word to describe how it feels,” says Monis.

“It took me 10 years of work toward this degree—not because I failed along the way, but because of what I had to overcome. It feels so rewarding, and I’m so grateful for everything I’ve achieved, and for everybody I’ve met through the process.”

It’s a Friday in late April, and she and four of her classmates—Hussainy and Sahnosh, along with Diana Ayubi ’25 and Tamana Ghaznawi ’25—have gathered on the Arts Quad to share their story with Cornellians.

As the seniors explain: after a two and a half months at a U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin, the nine came to the Hill, living together on North Campus.

Through Global Cornell (the Office of the Vice Provost for International Affairs) and its "scholars under threat” initiative, the University offered extensive support to help them get acclimated and to succeed—including financial aid, specialized orientation sessions and tours, donated laptops, and care packages, as well as cultural training for the staff assigned to help them.

Through Global Cornell and its 'scholars under threat' initiative, the University offered extensive support to help the students get acclimated and to succeed.

Over the course of their first few semesters, they worked to process what they’d endured, while exploring their new lives on the Hill.

For Ayubi, that initial year was a combination of numbness and denial.

“I needed time to figure out how I could be a better version of myself regardless of what had happened to me,” she says. “That was going to be very slow, but I would be stronger.”

Over time, she and the others began to branch out—joining student groups, starting jobs, making friends, connecting with faculty, and attending events.

“Cornell became our home,” says Monis, “and friends have become family.”

Ayubi, for example, began working in the Mathematics Library, became vice president of a student photography club, and joined two groups that promote mental health and wellbeing on the Hill.

Cornell became our home, and friends have become family.

Khadija Monis ’25

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“I found my place here in a welcoming community,” says Ayubi, who hopes to become a therapist, “and I feel like I really belong.”

In addition to becoming part of the wider campus community, the women have helped bring Afghan culture to the Hill.

For instance, the Organization for Afghan Students hosts an annual event called Mehmani Night, where Cornellians enjoy food, music, art, and dancing, with some attendees wearing traditional clothing.

“We all look forward to it,” says Ghaznawi, the club’s secretary. “It’s not only for the Afghan community; it’s for everybody who wants to know more about Afghans and our culture.”

In recent years, the friends have hosted dinners at their off-campus homes, cooking traditional dishes—like bolani (stuffed flatbread) and kabuli pulao (rice with lamb, carrots, and raisins)—for each other, or for other Cornell friends, faculty, and staff.

“We celebrate every small milestone,” says Monis, who grew up in a small village that has no school for girls. “When one of us succeeds, we form a circle and dance together. We just love an excuse to have a party.”

After graduation, all five of the women will pursue advanced degrees—four of them on the Hill, and three in the same program (a master’s of public health, specializing in epidemiology and infectious disease).

“No matter how we have been affected in our lives,” says Ayubi, “together, we always took another step forward.”

No matter how we have been affected in our lives, together we always took another step forward.

Diana Ayubi ’25

As Commencement nears, the women are looking ahead while remembering all that came before—especially the lives and the loved ones they left behind.

Sahnosh—the one who rose from her sickbed to make the flight—thinks about how her parents always supported her desire for an education, even when other relatives were vehemently against it.

When she was a small child, she recalls, her mother sold her own shoes so she could afford to buy a pair for her daughter to wear to school.

“It made me want to make her proud one day,” she recalls, adding: “I’ve made her proud. I’ve made myself proud.”

Meet the Class of ’25

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Top (from left): Class of ’25 grads Tamana Ghaznawi, Simah Gul Sahnosh, Diana Ayubi, Khadija Monis, and Khurshid Hussainy on the Arts Quad. (All photos in this story by Jason Koski / Cornell University, unless otherwise noted.)

Published May 15, 2025

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