A women's empowerment programme in Afghanistan is calling on the New Zealand Government to provide urgent visas to an at-risk family of five.

They're trying to get the young women on the programme out of the country because they fear they could be killed or married off to Taliban fighters.

"I do not know if the Taliban are going to kill me or not," one woman says.

That's the fear for those living in a society that has no prominent place for women or girls under Taliban rule.

"I don't want to be changed from an active and working woman to a housewife woman," says the woman.

Newshub's agreed not to name her, but she's part of the Ascend Athletics leadership programme, giving young Afghan girls an education and a chance to literally and figuratively climb mountains.

But that pathway to a better life has been blocked with the risk of being kidnapped and married off.

"You have zero options, you will wait at home and be told what to do and whom to marry, carrying children and clean the house and that's it," says Ascend Athletics founder Marina LeGree.

Before the takeover they did have options - a frequent adventure trekking the highs and lows of the Panjshir Valley.

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But just this week, in the same area, the Taliban killed civilians at random.

Some of the programme's more than 100 participants have been given a second chance.

"Ten families are going to Chile which is a wonderful thing, 20 visas for Ireland so that's individuals and Denmark took two families," LeGree says.

Now they want the help of New Zealand to grant urgent visas to a family of five, including the woman in our story.

But any help from our Government seems a long way off. It's yet to update plans on any further help since our last evacuation flights three weeks ago.

"The next steps in supporting those who already have the legal right to be in New Zealand and the other assistance we might be able to provide," Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says.

Assistance that could change the lives of young Afghan women.

"Let me make that very clear. New Zealand is incredible... it would be the dream," LeGree says.

"We had a lot of dreams, we had a lot of hopes for the future and now we are hopeless and all of our dreams are broken," the Afghan woman says.

A broken dream to conquer their biggest challenge yet - making it to New Zealand safely.