The Story of Afghan Girls Fighting to Learn: A Call for Global Solidarity
Supporting the World’s Educational Refugees
Purpose: Inform, Educate, and Call for Action
“We have no right to education, no right to work, no right to even exist freely. They are removing us from society.” “Afghanistan is now the only country in the world where girls do not have the right to attend secondary school.” — UNESCO, 2023
In August 2021, as the Afghan government fell, so too did the hopes of millions of girls and women. In mere days, everything changed, especially for those who had dared to dream.
Doors to schools, universities, offices, and even public parks shut. Dreams that had been carefully cultivated over years of study and struggle were extinguished by a regime intent on silencing women and girls once again. Education, once a path to freedom, was now forbidden.
What This Has Cost Afghan Women and Girls
The damage extends far beyond the gates of closed schools. This is not just an educational crisis, it is a systemic assault on human rights.
Girls have lost the right to study, to work, to travel, to access healthcare, and to participate in public life. Women are disappearing from society, not by choice, but by decree.
As one Afghan journalist described it:
“Today, these women are all prisoners.”
And when silence is enforced, mental health begins to deteriorate. For many girls, depression and hopelessness have become constant companions. They grieve for futures once filled with promise, for classrooms they loved, and for voices they are no longer allowed to raise.
But even in the darkness, some refuse to be erased.
“They Closed Our Schools, But They Couldn’t Close Our Minds”
Testimony from HER
She was born in Kabul and grew up surrounded by books, curiosity, and ambition. She dreamed of becoming a scientist, using her mind to improve the world. But that dream was interrupted overnight.
“When the schools closed in 2021, it felt like something deep inside me broke, like a fragile piece of my soul had splintered. Maybe it was the flame of hope I had kept burning for a brighter future. I kept wondering: what was my sin? What had I done to deserve this?”
Her teachers used to share stories of the past, when girls were banned from education. At the time, it felt distant, like history.
“My teachers told us about how girls had once been forbidden from going to school just because they were born women. At that time, I could only imagine how hard and devastating that must have been. I never thought I would experience that horrible feeling myself.”
Then came the day that would stay with her forever.
“I was on my way to school when I first saw them. From the moment I saw them, everything turned upside down. The doors of school—the doors of freedom and hope, closed at once. No more sincere happiness from that moment on.”
A Second Chance At Learning
For a while, her world went quiet. Her classroom group chats stopped. Her schoolbooks sat untouched. But eventually, she found a lifeline.
“In the darkest moment of my life, I found this program. It gave me a second chance to achieve my dreams. When I started my education journey again, the world that had seemed so dark lit up again.”
Fortunately she was able to resume her formal education and began studying for her A-levels, while joining on career development and mental health support workshops.
“It gave me something I thought I had lost, a reason to believe in tomorrow.”
She now mentors younger girls, leads peer support circles, and helps others rebuild their confidence. Her courage is not a solitary flame, it lights the way for many.
Dream That Refuse To Die
What makes her story extraordinary is not just what she survived—but what she continues to dream.
“Despite everything that has been taken from me, my dreams have not disappeared, in fact, they’ve only grown stronger.”
Her vision is crystal clear.
“I dream of a future where girls like me can study without fear, without restrictions, without needing permission to simply learn. I want to become someone who creates change, a person who not only shapes her own future but also opens doors for others.”
She dreams of combining science and service:
“I dream of becoming a scientist, an inventor, someone who builds technologies that help solve real-world problems. I want to work in the field of artificial intelligence to help children with disabilities, to make life easier for those who’ve been forgotten by systems and societies.”
“My ultimate goal is to find real solutions for things like cerebral palsy and to make technology a bridge between pain and hope.”
And she dreams of freedom, something most take for granted.
“I dream of freedom, freedom to walk outside without fear, to raise my voice without being shut down, to exist without being told I’m ‘less.’ I want to live in a world where every girl is seen as capable, powerful, and worthy, just because she exists.”
“I don’t want a future built on surviving, I want a future where we thrive.”
Voices From Other Girls
She is not alone. Girls continue to lift one another with courage, clarity, and compassion.
One student shared:
“Whatever happens, don’t let the situation in your country, politically or otherwise, stop you. That’s what they want. Don’t let them win. Whatever it takes, rise. Keep going. Be successful. And when you get there, help others through your success.”
Another wrote:
“Even if they take away our classrooms, they can’t take our hunger to learn. Stay strong, stay brave, and never give up.”
And the voice of one aspiring activist speaks for so many:
“If the future still holds a place for me, then my dream is this: to become the voice of the silenced girls of my homeland.”
Her message is powerful:
“I want to speak for the girls who wake up each morning with no purpose, who wish they wouldn’t wake at all, but still open their eyes, because life demands it.”
“For the ones who say ‘I’m fine,’ while their eyes betray the storm within them. For the ones who wear a mask of strength so perfectly, no one sees the shattered soul beneath.”
“For the ones who once dreamed of dancing, laughing, running wild and free, but were forced, in silence, to embrace death.”
“For the ones who longed to sing to the sky, but had their tongues torn out, simply for the crime of being born a girl.”
“I want to stand beside them, not as a savior, but as a sister. Hand in hand, heart to heart, we will fight.”
“Because I believe, no matter how long the night, one day, the fire of injustice will burn itself to ashes.”
“And from those ashes, we will rise, not quietly, not slowly,
But with the roar of all the stolen voices, echoing across the world.”
“We are not weak. We were simply never allowed to be seen.”
These voices are not just expressions of pain, they are calls to action, declarations of power, and roadmaps to a better future.
Support Girls Like Her
This is not just a story of loss. It is a story of courage, dignity, and the refusal to surrender to silence.
“They closed our schools. But they couldn’t close our minds.”
These girls are not asking for pity. They are asking for solidarity. For support. For the chance to continue learning and leading.
They are building futures from rubble, reclaiming education as a birthright, and writing a new narrative of what it means to survive, and thrive.
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