When the Taliban took over in August 2021, she went into hiding to protect her family. Durrani remained in Afghanistan during the initial weeks of Taliban control but left after regional security services warned her of plots against her, so she left Afghanistan only in October. Durrani has been a visiting fellow at Wellesley College since November 2021, focusing on improving humanitarian aid and reducing financial corruption.
Durrani has received numerous accolades, including being named an Education Champion by the Malala Fund and a global youth representative for Amnesty International. She won the 2021 Tällberg-SNF-Eliasson Emerging Leader prize and was listed among the BBC’s and Time’s 100 most influential women in 2021. In 2023, she received a Global Citizen Prize for her work.