Samira Kitman

Her parents fled to Pakistan to avoid the troubles, where they lived as refugees during her early childhood. They returned to Kabul in 2002.[2]

She learned her craft with the Turquoise Mountain Foundation and went on to organise the contract that provided Afghan miniature painting, ceramics and woodwork to the brand new five-star Anjum Hotel in Mecca which is used by wealthy pilgrims. She employed fifteen women calligraphers.[3] The contract worth £175,000 was for 6,000 illuminated Quranic verses to decorate the five-star hotel. She and her artists had 11 weeks to complete the intricate ink lettering with swirls of green and gold watercolour.[4]

She was voted Afghan businesswoman of the year,[2] has been praised by Prince Charles and has had her art displayed at the Victoria and Albert museum in London and the Smithsonian in Washington.

She created Maftah-e Hunar, an arts foundation which trained eighty young, deprived women to become artists and make a living. In 2016 she featured in We Are Afghan Women, a book by the former American first lady Laura Bush.[5]

Kitman’s high profile brought her to the attention of militants, and she applied for asylum to the United Kingdom and was located by the Home Office in Lancaster.[6] Her application was refused, an appeal lodged then on 18 March 2017, before the appeal the Home Office reversed its decision: “They advised that after reviewing their decision they hadn’t realised the extent of Samira’s profile in Afghanistan and internationally and that due to her profile she would be at risk.” [7]

• Pidd, Helen (21 March 2017). "From businesswoman of the year to £5 a day in a shared house". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
• "24yr-old Afghan woman wins the Best Woman Entrepreneur Award". wadsam.com. Wadsam. 15 March 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
• Pridd (26 March 2017). "Afghan artist wins asylum claim following Guardian report". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 March 2017.

• Samira Kitman Turquoise Mountain site