Silenced Girls of Afghanistan: A Journalist’s Hopes and Dreams Under Bombs and in Exile in Iran
Kabul : Firoza, a girl deprived of education, is caught in war and displacement in Iran. Like thousands of other girls, she was barred from studying and working by order of Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban Supreme Leader, and now faces numerous challenges in Iran. She says that uncertainty, a lack of direction, and the absence of a clear future, along with living under bombardment and the hardship of displacement, have made her situation extremely difficult. She emphasizes that despite being far from her country and unable to achieve her dreams, Afghanistan still beats within her heart and breathes deep within her soul.
Firoza states that in Afghanistan, she worked in the field of information dissemination, and journalism was not only a job for her, but a responsibility she felt deeply and pursued with full commitment.
She says she tried to be the voice of the people, the voice of those who, in her words, had no one to hear them. She told stories that had fallen into forced silence and revealed pains that had remained hidden. In journalism, Firoza sought truths whose expression required courage and the acceptance of risk.
This journalist emphasizes: “I lived with words, I wrote with hope, and I believed that every piece of news could be a light in the darkness. But now I am in Iran, far from my homeland, far from the streets I have memories of, and far from the people whose voices I used to hear. Yet this distance has not been able to separate my heart from Afghanistan. Even now, when I think about the past, my heart beats for those same streets, those same voices, and those same moments. Longing has become part of my life, but what still lives within me is hope.”
Firoza says she dreamed of becoming a successful and well-known journalist in Afghanistan, someone who could express realities without fear and whose voice would be not only news, but also a source of hope for society. She adds, “I wanted to make an impact with my writing, to bring light, and perhaps even create a small change. These dreams were very big for me, yet at the same time simple and real. Today, perhaps part of those dreams remains in a suitcase of memories, a suitcase filled with good days, efforts, hopes, and even regrets.”
This journalist says: “I am still that same girl, a girl who believes it is possible to start again. I still think about the future, about a day when I might once again be able to pick up a pen and continue on that same path.”
She emphasizes that despite being distanced from her dreams, she still believes she can achieve them and will begin again to make them a reality. Firoza says that despite striving to reach her aspirations, she is now in Iran, amid bombs falling from the skies over Tehran and the uncertainty that troubles her, yet she continues to think about the girls of Afghanistan, girls who, under Taliban rule, have been deprived of their most basic human rights. She hopes she can do something to free them from the shadow of oppression and ignorance.
After taking control of Afghanistan, the Taliban have removed women and girls from all areas of social life. According to the group’s orders, women and girls are now deprived of attending school beyond the sixth grade, the right to education, the right to work, the right to travel, recreation and sports, and other collective spheres.
Many legal experts and human rights organizations have described the current situation of women in Afghanistan under Taliban rule as “gender apartheid” and have called for the international community to formally recognize this situation.
