In 2014, 17-year-old River was travelling by bus from Ghazni to Kabul to attend school when Taliban gunmen stopped the vehicle and opened fire. She says the attack was motivated by the presence of women travelling and studying without male relatives, highlighting the extreme dangers faced by Afghan girls seeking education. River survived by smearing menstrual blood on her face and pretending to be dead.

Twelve passengers were killed and River was one of only three survivors, later being found among the bodies by soldiers. She went on to work as a journalist reporting on women’s rights, but continued receiving threats before fleeing Afghanistan with her family, first to India and later Australia. The family faced further hardship as refugees, including the suicide of River’s 20-year-old brother.