‘The Taliban killed a midwife who refused to leave a woman in labour’

Zahra Mirzaei pioneered groundbreaking' maternity services in Kabul, but has been forced to flee. She says she won't stop fighting for dignified care for Afghanistan's women and girls

When Afghanistan's first midwife-led birth centre opened in the impoverished district of Dasht-e-Barchi in western Kabul this year it was a symbol of hope and defiance.

It began receiving expectant mothers in June, just over a year after a devastating attack by gunmen on the maternity wing at the local hospital left 24 people dead, including 16 mothers, a midwife and two young children.