Humza Yousaf blamed “foot-dragging” UK officials for a Lewis-based foundation’s struggles to help women leave Afghanistan and train as doctors in Scotland.
The first minister responded to pleas for help getting 20 women to study here.
The Linda Norgrove Foundation, which is trying to smooth the path, was set up in memory of Western Isles-raised Linda Norgove who was kidnapped while working as an aid worker in Afghanistan.
She died during a failed rescue attempt in 2010.
We reported last week how one woman despaired her dream of becoming a doctor is being shattered.
The foundation has been trying for two years to bring the 20 women over with scholarships.
Western Isles MSP Alasdair Allan raised their struggle in Holyrood on Thursday.
Responding, Mr Yousaf said: “I will see if there’s anything more we can possibly do on this issue.
“I hope we would join collectively as a parliament to say to the UK Government that their response, their foot-dragging on this particular issue is simply not good enough and is letting down women and girls in Afghanistan.”
In March, the Press and Journal spoke to four of the students about their desperate situation.
Muzhda, 23, who was in her final year of studies, told us: “Before the Taliban, all women had rights like any other human being.
“People treated us with respect and we had a special place in society. We had freedom and were able to get an education and work alongside men in different fields.”
£50,000 fees
The foundation says an Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme would open in January, then Augst, then not “any time soon”.
It was suggested they can come with student visas, but that comes with massive £50,000 fees.
The fees could be waived, but the Scottish Government says UK rules make that impossible without refugee status.
The Home Office said: “The UK has made an ambitious and generous commitment to help at-risk people in Afghanistan and, so far, we have brought around 24,600 vulnerable people to safety, including thousands of people eligible for our Afghan resettlement schemes.
“Supporting the resettlement of eligible Afghans remains a top priority and we continue to work with likeminded partners and countries neighbouring Afghanistan on resettlement issues, and to support safe passage for eligible people.”
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