The Unspoken Words of Afghan Women- Storytelling Under the Taliban Rule

In Afghanistan, following the Taliban’s takeover in August 2021, a grim and ever-increasing wave of violence and discrimination has surrounded the girls and women of the country.

The de facto regime continues to erode women’s rights, including banning higher education and limiting employment opportunities for females, restricting freedom of movement and forcing strict dress codes, and, in a recent attempt to further erase them from public life, they prohibited them from raising their voices or speaking with each other outside of their homes... Moreover, Afghan news shared internationally is filtered and censored, restricting the opportunity to raise voices about the reality on the ground.

Despite all those restrictions, our CSPPS-member Afghans for Progressive Thinking (APT) continues to contribute to pushing back against gender-based violence and calling for change by using creative initiatives to address the challenges.

For the past two decades, APT has worked to build the capacity of youth and foster a culture of youth empowerment in Afghanistan.

In one of its most recent programs, ‘Mentorship Program’, 30 young women had an opportunity to learn how to use their voice and experiences to create compelling narratives and raise awareness about the reality in their country. The young women's team worked to write articles serving as a vehicle to convey their journey, address the current barriers, and present recommendations for sustainable change. APT then collected and published these articles to amplify their voices and share their unique perspectives with a wider audience.

We encourage you to read and share these articles widely to further amplify their voices. The collection of articles can be accessed here.

You can also access their other publications, including the Policy Briefs and Creative Writing Journal which are authored by young women in Afghanistan by following this link:  Publications - APT.