The first wife, a kind woman named Gulgutti, had married Khan more than a decade earlier. They had a child together and had also adopted one of her brother-in-law’s children. Sushmita somehow managed to adapt to life in Afghanistan and took the name Sayeda Kamala, until the country descended into civil war in 1993. The conflict made daily life increasingly uncertain, but when the Taliban eventually took control, that uncertainty turned into a living nightmare. Women were banned from working outside the home, attending schools or universities, and appearing in public without a male chaperone. Television, music and radio were all strictly prohibited. Even visits to the general hospital were forbidden for women.
