Read

Mrs. Laura Bush and Jenna Bush Hager Speak with Three Afghan Refugee Women for International Day of the Girl 

On a Today Show segment, Mrs. Laura Bush and Jenna Bush Hager heard from three refugee women from Afghanistan as they told their stories. 

To honor International Day of the Girl, Mrs. Laura Bush and Jenna Bush Hager spoke with three refugee women from Afghanistan who risked their lives to travel to the United States. Mrs. Laura Bush has been a passionate advocate for the women and girls of Afghanistan since her time in the White House.  

One young Afghan women spoke anonymously out of concern for the safety of her family still in Afghanistan. She often thinks of them. Every time, when they called to me, they say, Please, my baby, help us. They don’t have money. They don’t have food. They don’t have water to drink. They are jobless. They don’t have jobs now. … If the girls don’t have a hijab (on) they will beat her. 

Jamilah, an Afghan refugee who arrived with her sister Sharifeh in the United States three years ago, still has hope for her country. “One day, my country is going to be like other countries,” she said. The people, all of them, happy together. … Not scared for something to happen to children in their school or (at) their home.