The applicant, an Afghan woman, of Pashtun ethnicity, requested international protection due to the fear of persecution by the Taliban and her family. After the disappearance of her husband, she was harassed by his brother who intended to marry her. Furthermore, the applicant was also wanted by the Taliban for having had a brief relationship with a cousin after the disappearance of her husband. She fled Afghanistan with her children.

The OFPRA refused her request for international protection and she appealed before the CNDA.

The court allowed her appeal and provided her refugee protection as she belonged to the social group of widows who want to live alone and not submit to religious customs. It noted that the applicant has a profile that is particularly targeted by the Taliban, the new de facto authority of Afghanistan, since she adopted a behavior which is not in accordance with the role assigned to her sex by society, by refusing to submit to the practice of levirate marriage and maintaining a relationship outside the marital framework. Thus, if returned, she would be persecuted due to her religious beliefs and the transgressive nature of her behavior with regard to social norms and in particular Sharia law applied by the new Taliban government.