Mahpekay Sediqy

Mahpekay Sediqy is the deputy director at the Kabul Orthopaedic Organisation (KOO) in Afghanistan's capital and a bilateral amputee, herself.

Sediqy lost both legs to a mine while collecting firewood as a child during the Taliban's time in power in that late 1990s. She had never aspired to anything more than completing sixth class at school but, following her accident, Sediqy was taken under the wing of KOO's director at the time and has since gone on to complete a bachelor's degree in prosthetics and orthotics and helped hundreds of people with physical disabilities to walk, some for the first time.

Sediqy grew up in a rural district of Kabul called Qarabagh, which is, while close to Kabul City in proximity, a long way away in terms of the cultural modernisation that has characterised the Afghan capital since 2001. While the government nominally controls Qarabagh, the Taliban’s presence and influence there is famously strong. 

In this episode, we talk about Sediqy’s struggle to come to terms with her horrific injury, and the new lease on life she found upon discovering the possibilities that lay before her; possibilities she’d never imagined, even before she lost her legs.

We also talk about the cultural issues and the daily barrage of harassment as she’s had to confront and endure as she's progressed through life, both personally and professionally.