Queen Soraya Tarzi was born in 24 November 1899 in Damascus Syria to Mahmud Beg Tarzi, an Afghan leader, and his second wife Amsa Rasmiya Khanum. She was educated by her father in Syria, then part of the Ottoman Empire, and as a result was exposed to Western values & curriculum. In 1902, her father became the King of Afghanistan and when the Tarzi family returned in Afghanistan from exile, Soraya met Prince Amanullah, who she would go on to marry. They were married in 1913 and six years later her husband became Amir and in 1926, he became the King of Afghanistan. Their marriage broke a number of traditions, as Soraya served as Minister of Education and was the first consort to appear in public with her husband. She was also his only wife. During her time as queen, she and her husband actively campaigned against the veil, polygamy, and sought to expand education for girls outside of the city’s capital. She opened the first school in Kabul for girls and later sent 15 women to Turkey where they could receive higher education. Queen Soraya also founded the first magazine for women, Ershad-I-Niswan or Guidance for women, Two years after becoming queen, she and her husband went on a tour of Europe where they both received an Honorary Degree from Oxford University. During the trip, photos emerged of the Queen without her veil, dining with foreign men, and having her hand kissed by male leaders. These photos began an uprising which would see her husband abdicate the throne in 1929 to avoid a civil war and the two of them forced into exile. Queen Soraya settled in Italy, where she spent the remainder of her life, eventually passing away in 1968. Her body was returned to her home country and after being given a state funeral, she was buried next to her husband in the family’s mausoleum in Jalalabad.