In hiding, an Afghan woman set alight by the Taliban is forced to wait to join her brother in Brisbane

When Huma refused the proposal, two members of the Taliban attacked her.

Huma suffered burns to more than 4o% of her body as a result of the attack.

Her situation has grown increasingly desperate since the Taliban rose to power last year, forcing her family to relocate to Pakistan.

The department said it set up a specialised team to process that case load last year and have granted more than 1,700 Afghan partner and family visas, including those applied for as far back as 2012-13.

More than 5,500 Afghan nationals have arrived in Australia on temporary humanitarian visas since last August. But more than 45,400 humanitarian visa applications remain undecided after being lodged in Australia by, or on behalf of, Afghan nationals.

Giles declined to comment when contacted by Guardian Australia.

In March the Australian government announced 16,500 additional places for Afghans over four years under the exisiting humanitarian program.

The commitment built on 10,000 humanitarian places promised for Afghan nationals in January, as well as 5,000 visas within the family stream.

But Zarifi says Australia should expand its emergency humanitarian program by at least 20,000 additional places for Afghans annually over the next five years, considering the dire situation of women and girls in the country.

Since grasping power, the Taliban have denied girls education, barred women from travelling more than 72km without a male guardian and eliminated women from political participation.

Sadat claims the official told him that his sister would be safe to walk the streets of Kabul and his family is not at risk as they are Pashtuns rather than an ethnic minority.

* Name has been changed to protect identity.