Category: Blog

Hadisa Osmani I am your daughter. When I was born, you punched the wall. You said:“Why couldn’t it be a…

The sexual harassment of children in our society is nothing new, but we rarely speak about it. A few weeks ago, I was speaking about this issue with a few of my friends. There was six of us and every one had had a bitter experience with sexual harassment or abuse. One had been harassed at the mosque, others at home by cousins, uncles, neighbors… Every story was a reiteration of the pain children, especially girl child, are too familiar with. I also shared my experience.

Beautiful lady!

They don’t like your social interactions

And they call you a “slut.”

Beautiful lady,

They will take your smiles away

And imprison you at home.

In our culture,

Women don’t laugh, they will say.

Be silent.

Here, they interpret your smile

As a sign of promiscuity

And they will push you

It has become so easy for people to have access to social media that even in Afghanistan you often see youth buying mobile phones to be connected to the virtual world. Social media, especially Facebook, has given people the ability to share their thoughts, dreams and interests with the world and has opened a new door to information to many, but being a woman on Facebook is not without its problems.

It was 1998, during the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, when I learned I had become a woman. I learned that I had to wear a burqa like my mother and older sister and I that was not allowed to leave the home without a male chaperon. I was told that I am considered worth half of what men are worth of and I am a “half-brained” object that does not have the right to go to school.

Fatima Ashoori Girl: Move with all your might. Do not waver if you feel small. Do not wonder if they…

Hosnia Mohseni My land: The most dangerous place for me. The landscape, the hills, and every rock in this land…

Ateka Afzali My world ends at the walls around my house. I see beyond these borders from the windows. When…