Amplifying the voices of Afghan girls and women

(Courtesy of Malala Fund)

Malala discusses the crisis in Afghanistan and how young women can help.

Like many of you, I am deeply concerned about girls and women in Afghanistan. 

Over the last two decades, millions more Afghan girls and women have been able to go to school and realise their ambitions for the future. Now that progress — and those dreams — are under attack. 

To any young women reading this in Afghanistan, I want you to know you are not alone. I know what it’s like to walk to school in fear, to not know what tomorrow will bring, to stay up at night wondering if today was the last day where you could go to school. I stand with you and I pledge to keep sharing your stories and calling for action.

To Assembly readers around the world, if you share my concern for our Afghan sisters, I hope you will join me in amplifying their voices. In times of emergency, too often the global conversation — dominated by analysts and officials — drowns out the voices of those living through it, the people we need to hear most. We need to ensure that girls and women in Afghanistan are not only heard but part of any decision that affects their future. 

In my piece for The New York Times, I share the words of Afghan women I’ve spoken to recently, their hopes for the days ahead and their work defending every girl’s right to learn.

If you are wondering how else you can help, you can call on your elected officials to ensure safe passage for civilians from Afghanistan by keeping borders open and providing visas to those people and families under greatest threat, especially women’s rights activists. Tell your leaders to deploy humanitarian aid to Afghanistan and neighbouring countries to meet the needs of all displaced people — particularly the most marginalised populations like girls and women. 

Many fear that Afghan girls and women will be forgotten. But when the Taliban attacked me for going to school, the world rallied behind me and echoed my calls for education and equality. They did not look away.

I know that you will stand with the girls and women of Afghanistan. I know that you will keep amplifying their voices. Silence is one of the threats they face — but together, we can keep reminding the world of their stories.