Laila Anwarzai Ayoubi

Laila Anwarzai Ayoubi

Laila was born in Kabul, Afghanistan. She graduated from Kabul University, where she studied French and journalism.

Her father, General Muhammad Asef Khan, was the Commander of the Royal Air Force in Afghanistan during the reign of King Zahir Shah. In 1979, at the onset of the Soviet Invasion, the Afghan communist government imprisoned her father, like many of Kabul’s military and government leaders. After his release eight months later, he advised his family to leave Afghanistan until peace was restored. He stayed behind for the love of his country.

In 1980, Laila, with her husband Bashir, the son of a former Afghan Minister of Finance, and two baby boys fled to Pakistan, avoiding persecution and imprisonment themselves. After a few months, as political refugees, they migrated to the United States, where they arrived in New York City during June 1981. They soon moved to Indianapolis.

Thoughts of returning home gave her comfort. She hoped that soon things would get better with the Afghans defeating the Soviets. The family then would return to Afghanistan.

Destiny had other plans for Laila and her family. After the Soviets left Afghanistan countless civil wars began. They decided to remain in America. She has developed a great love for her adopted country similar to the love she still has for her native homeland. Her first job in America was teaching French at a university. In 1985 her third son was born.

Since coming to America, she has earned four additional degrees: a bachelor’s in English; a master’s in Community Psychology; a master’s in Near Eastern Cultures and Languages; and a Ph. D. in International Relations with a focus on the education of Afghan refugee girls in Pakistan.

She extended her teaching to the areas of English, World Literature, the History of Islam, and other liberal arts courses at Butler University and Martin University. She also was a journalist for the Indiana Herald.

In 2003-2006, she served as a diplomat in the Afghan Embassy in Islamabad. She was a member of the diplomatic team participating in Afghanistan’s reconstruction program. In addition to her diplomatic career, she worked as a national educational advisor for the United Nations Developmental Programs (UNDP), and served as a faculty member/program manager with Washington State University Extension at Kabul University.

Laila, still resides in Indianapolis and continues to teach and write. Her oldest son, Ali, is a cardiologist; her second son, Edris, is a doctor of internal medicine; and her youngest son, Slaimon, is an attorney.

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