A husband and new baby would be a challenge for any teenager, but Karimi said she also felt added pressure from the country's widespread social restrictions, which in 2011 were significantly looser than under Taliban rule.
With the help of her mother Mahtab Amiri, who coordinated her escape, she left the country with Erfaan and was sent to Iran. From there she headed to Turkey and then Greece before eventually settling in Norway, where she was granted asylum.
“It was very scary. But when you find yourself in that situation, you just, I don’t know how, but you deal with your feelings,” Karimi said, adding that she spent most of her time focusing on her son, who “was the only thing there was.”
She later said that her mother made her way to Europe and built a life in Germany. Amiri, who died of a heart attack 10 years ago at age 54, “was my first hero, a beautiful woman and person,” Karimi said. “She told me you have to be independent, you have to get a degree,” she added.
Karimi said that during her difficult early years in Norway, she had to learn a new language and adapt to a completely different culture. Slowly but surely she found her footing, completed her nursing training and followed her mother into the profession.
She said going to the gym regularly quickly became her main hobby, as well as her therapy. Regular exercise helped her cope with problems sleeping at night, a symptom of trauma caused by her childhood in Afghanistan.
In Afghanistan, she said, there is no culture of women doing bodybuilding or going to the gym, she added, adding that this is normal in Norway. According to her, the training helped her cope with stress mentally and become stronger physically.
“You have to have very good discipline,” she said, adding that you have to follow “every step to achieve the shape you want.”
