We should be ashamed that at-risk Afghans have been left behind

Whatever the route, there needs to be a concerted effort to make sure people find safety, even without military presence on the ground, writes Bel Trew

An Afghan girl stands among widows clad in burqas (Reuters)

Today, we should hang our heads in shame. Thousands of extremely vulnerable Afghans and dual nationals have been left behind in Afghanistan after the humiliatingly chaotic withdrawal of US troops and its allies.

Twenty years of a $2 trillion military intervention and war that killed nearly a quarter of a million Afghans ended in a hazy night vision photo of the last US soldier boarding the last US flight.

Over the last few weeks I have been in touch with some of those most in danger: fiercely courageous female Afghan journalists, politicians, human rights workers, translators and students, some from persecuted minorities or provinces, who have risked everything over the years doing the vital work of building a better future for women in one of the hardest environments to do so.