Six Afghan women MPs arrive in Greece on way to US

AFP

Published at 01:37 pm September 22nd, 2021

Afghan women walk at the site of floods in Charikar, capital of Parwan province, Afghanistan August 27, 2020. REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail

File photo: Afghan women walk at the site of floods in Charikar, capital of Parwan province, Afghanistan August 27, 2020 Reuters

The female MPs will be hosted in Greece for a short time until resettlement procedures to the United States are completed

Greece on Wednesday said it was temporarily hosting six Afghan women MPs and their families who fled Afghanistan ahead of eventual resettlement in the United States.

Greece was hosting a "symbolic" number of Afghans who are "defenders of fundamental values, freedom of expression and gender equality," the foreign ministry said.

"Six Afghan MPs arrived in Athens via Tbilisi (Georgia) a few hours ago, accompanied by family members," it said, revising an earlier statement referring to seven MPs.

"(They) will be hosted in Greece for a short time until resettlement procedures to the United States are completed," it said.

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The women, whose identities were not revealed, left Afghanistan with assistance from the New York-based NGO Zaka Khan, the ministry said.

Greece took part in US-led evacuation efforts in August to remove a small number of people from Afghanistan following the Taliban return to power after two decades.

A ministry source said Greece has so far taken in around 65 Afghan evacuees, and evacuated three Greek nationals.

Greece is currently home to 40,000 long-term Afghan refugees and asylum seekers, making it the largest migrant population in the country, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.