Alex Crawford

Alex Crawford, 61, (left) is known for her high-risk threshold and reporting from war zones around the world. Alex was the first UK reporter to interview President Zelensky (bottom right), shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in February of this year. And, Alex, a journalist from Mexico, reports on Women at War, a new Sky docuseries, is a woman trapped in cycles of violence and exclusion due to men. Speaking to Femail, she shares the tales she can't get out of her mind and the sacrifices she's made.

Alex Crawford, Sky News' intrepid special correspondent, 61 (left), has recalled the harrowing experience of being held captive by the Taliban. Following the fall of Kabul in 2021(right), Alex arrived in Afghanistan before the complete Taliban takeover, but the country is still without a UK embassy or consulate, with the country on the brink of chaos. She was apprehended by Taliban militants and led to a room with nothing but a Taliban flag and a camera tripod, implying that she would be the subject of a sinister hostage video. However, her tenacity and quick thinking aided her and her coworkers in escaping.

Safiya was supposed to graduate the day the Taliban took power. Her family and friends were due to attend a service at Afghanistan's top business university near the capital, Kabul. She was 22 years old at 22 years old, a symbol of Afghanistan's 'progression' - highly educated and planning to start her own company. 'We were so excited,' Safiya, who is now 24, tells me. For the occasion, my two closest friends and I planned to wear matching pink suits under our gowns.' She was one of 30 female students on her business administration course, outnumbered by men, but there was evidence that the country was opening up to women, albeit slowly. A degree from Kardan University, which had been in the country's highest ranking two years earlier, was a sign of success.