Meet Naji Noushi: She drove solo through Taliban checkpoints

The Taliban fighters surrounded her car, pressing close to see the woman who had dared to drive into their country alone. When they spotted the Quran on her dashboard, the questions began. Are you Muslim? Yes. Can you read this?

Naaji Noushi opened the holy book and began to recite. The armed men listened, then nodded. "Mashallah, good, good."

It was just another checkpoint in Afghanistan, one of more than 100 she would pass through on a seven-month journey that would take her across 21 countries from the UAE to India. The 36-year-old mother of five from Kerala had started with exactly 5,000 in her pocket. No support vehicle, just a Mahindra Thar and an unshakeable belief that somehow, it would work out. India Today Global sat down with Naaji Noushi for an exclusive interview.

The route she chose would terrify most overlanders: UAE to Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Turkey, Georgia, Russia, Armenia, Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, back through Russia, into Mongolia, and eventually down through China, Tibet, Nepal, and home to India.

Her car became everything. Bedroom, kitchen, office. One egg and one chapati a day was enough. Hotels were impossible, so she relied on Instagram messages from strangers that turned into dinner invitations, spare rooms, unexpected friendships. In Turkey, she found a village where people communicate through whistles. In Iran, families fed her without asking for money, their hospitality so overwhelming it made her emotional. "The Iranian people, their hospitality is priceless."

Afghanistan was the crucible. The Taliban don't allow women to drive. They don't allow solo travel. But Naaji passed through their checkpoints, answering their questions, reading their holy book, somehow making it through on faith and determination alone. She wasn't scared. "If I have any fear, I can't go anywhere."

The women she met there told different stories. No education. No work. No future. "Taliban stopped every education system in Afghanistan," she says, her voice hardening. "They know if they provide education to all girls, Taliban cannot stay in that country. Education is the most powerful thing in the world."

Russia brought different challenges. She drove more than 5,000 kilometres without GPS after American sanctions disabled the system. No Google Maps, no internet, no SIM card. Just endless road and strangers who helped despite sharing no common language. When she needed directions, both parties would gesture wildly and laugh at the absurdity of it all.

"If you don't have any language, love is the language for everything," she says. "They know what I need and I know what they need."

At every border, people recognised her Indian car. Many knew Shah Rukh Khan better than they knew India's prime minister. Customs officials in Uzbekistan asked about Bollywood. Even in Afghanistan, people mentioned Hindi films. Cultural diplomacy, it turns out, happens on highways and expressways, not embassies.

Back home in Abu Dhabi, her five children are being cared for by her mother and husband. Her youngest is just five years old. Naaji doesn't video call daily. "I know they are in safe hands," she says. More than that, she sees her absence as educational. "We should teach our kids that without parents, they can grow."

The dream began when she was eight, sitting in a Kerala classroom, unable to afford a school picnic. Her father was a salesman without spare money. That day, she promised herself: one day, I'll see the world.

It took 28 years, five children, and a pandemic before that promise became reality. Her first major journey was to Qatar for the 2022 World Cup, which caught Anand Mahindra's attention. His company gave her the Thar, created a women's empowerment programme, and she became an unofficial ambassador for Indian manufacturing.

Now, after 21 countries and tens of thousands of kilometres, she's preparing to cross into China, then Tibet, then Nepal, and finally home to Kerala. "Maybe this is my last trip," she says. "Missing home."

She's keeping 98 percent of her journey to herself, posting only two percent on social media. "I made good memories. I don't want to post them because I already experienced them."

When people call her inspiring, she pushes back. Her advice is simple: "If you have any dream, you should work on it. Don't think about other people. Focus on your own goals. One day you will achieve your dream."

Naaji Noushi is the first Indian woman to overland solo through 21 countries. She did it with 5000 Indian rupees, a car, and the radical belief that kindness transcends borders. Soon she'll be home in Kerala, and the world will be smaller for it.

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