“The sun will rise again!”
Afghan women in Greece unite their voices in solidarity with the women and girls in Afghanistan on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women
Refugee Support Aegean (RSA), in collaboration with seven Afghan women and girls living in Greece whom we represent legally, has created a powerful multimedia message for those women enduring the hardships in Afghanistan. As part of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence – an annual international campaign running from November 25 (International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women) to December 10 (Human Rights Day) – we collaborated with Afghan women living in Greece. Some participated by creating videos where they raised their voices through singing, reciting, or demanding freedom for their people, while others expressed solidarity with Afghan women in their homeland through painting and poetry. In a separate publication, we share a text inspired by Setara*’s experience, a 26-year-old journalist, teacher, and women’s rights activist currently living in Greece. Setara* spoke with us about her journey, the situation in Afghanistan, and the powerful message she wishes to send to the women and girls still living there.
This message joins a global outcry of anger and solidarity, shedding light on the systemic violations of fundamental rights Afghan women and girls have experienced since the Taliban seized power in August 2021.
Since this summer, Afghan women around the world have been creating videos of themselves singing, as a powerful form of protest against Taliban laws which forbid women in Afghanistan from doing so. Through their voices, words and art, these women are breaking the silence and sending their message across the globe.
“We want to raise our voices against all odds and stand in solidarity with all Afghan women and girls. What is happening to us in Afghanistan is cruelty and terror,” says to RSA Soraya*, who fled Taliban rule with her family after being persecuted for secretly supporting other women through advice and literacy classes. ”You, our fellow Afghan women and girls back home, are the most courageous people in this world! They may try to silence us and hide us, but we will fight and stand until the end. Despite the Taliban, we are still here. To you, I shout: ‘AZADI’ [Freedom]!”
Since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, over 80 decrees have been issued, systematically erasing women’s rights in Afghanistan. Women and girls have been largely excluded from education, employment, and access to justice, with extremely limited access to healthcare and no freedom to move or take part in any sports. In the summer of 2024, the Taliban introduced the first “Vice and Virtue” Law Package (Official Gazette Nr. 1452, 31.07.24), imposing even harsher restrictions. Under this law, even a woman’s voice is now considered intimate, and must no longer be heard in public. It, too, must be “covered”. Two months after this ban, a new rule banned them from even hearing each other’s voices.
Article 13 of “The Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice Law”, published on 31st of July 2024, on “injunctions related to women covering themselves” states:
- §1 A woman is required to cover her entire body.
- §2 A woman should cover her face in order to prevent some ‘fitna’ [social disorder or chaos, which can itself facilitate sin] taking place.
- §3 Women’s voices (in a song, a hymn, or a recital out loud in a gathering) are also something that should be covered.
- §4 A woman’s clothes should not be thin, short or tight.
- §5 It is the responsibility of women to hide their body and their face from men who are not their mahram – close relatives.
- §6 It is obligatory for Muslim and righteous women to cover themselves in front of non-believing or loose women, so that no fitna may ensue.
- §7 It is forbidden for unrelated men to look at a woman’s body or face. Likewise, women are not allowed to look at strange men.
- §8 If an adult woman leaves home because of some urgent need, she is duty-bound to hide her voice, face and body.
Afghanistan is currently ranked as the most dangerous country in the world for women, according to the 2023 Women, Peace, and Security Index. UN Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett described the systemic violations of Afghan women’s and girls’ rights as “gender persecution and an institutionalised framework of gender apartheid”. The Taliban’s enforcement of their extreme interpretation of Sharia law has been widely condemned by UN bodies and numerous countries. On 4 October 2024, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled in two cases brought by Austria that Afghan women under Taliban rule automatically qualify for refugee status. This recognition requires no further evidence of individualised persecution; Their nationality and gender alone are sufficient grounds.
Contents
Messages from Afghan women living in Greece
To our fellow girls and women who endure already three years under the Taliban in Afghanistan
“You, our fellow Afghan women and girls back home, are the most courageous people in this world! Don’t stop defending your rights, don’t stop fighting for your future, even if, for now, you are not allowed to see the outside world or speak out. Don’t give up hope! Hope is what keeps us human. They may try to silence us and hide us, but we will fight and stand until the end. To you, I shout: ‘AZADI’ [Freedom]!”
Soraya*
“Our power is in our unity! We must unite our voices across Afghanistan and around the world. Together, we can demand and defend our rights, our freedom, our dignity. Let us, Afghan girls and women speak! Give us the right to live!”
Arezu*
“Hold on to your hopes. Don’t stop dreaming of a better future. The dark days will end. Bright days will come. The sun will rise again. The stars will shine, and we will be stronger. We, women, will succeed. No one has the power to break us.”
Setara*
“Life under the Taliban for Afghan women is unimaginable to outsiders” Soraya* (28) – mother, teacher and women’s rights defender
“We want to raise our voices against all odds and stand in solidarity with all Afghan women and girls. What is happening to us in Afghanistan is cruelty and terror. To the Taliban, we women and girls are worth less than animals.
Life under the Taliban for Afghan women is unimaginable to outsiders. You cannot escape the countless walls that surround you. You are hidden behind the Burqa [a veil fully covering the body and face], confined to the house, silenced. There is no education, no work, no sports, no healthcare. We are always controlled by and dependent on men. It’s like living in a prison, with no exit. We are also exposed to violence inside the home: we must run the household, endure harsh words, and often face beatings and torture.
I am fortunate that my husband is not like the Taliban, but I have lived under their rule. I have faced them everywhere around me. I never want to experience that again. I don’t want my children to go through it. The bitterness, terror and fear have destroyed my health and my life forever. I wish for freedom to come to all Afghans, but I feel unheard.
“You, our fellow Afghan women and girls back home, are the most courageous people in this world! Don’t stop defending your rights, don’t stop fighting for your future, even if, for now, you are not allowed to see the outside world or speak out. Don’t give up hope! Hope is what keeps us human. They may try to silence us and hide us, but we will fight and stand until the end. To you, I shout: ‘AZADI’ [Freedom]!”
“That is what the Taliban built: A big torturous prison for women” Arezu* (27) – poet, author, teacher
The Taliban view us, girls and women as objects to consume, exploit, discard. Women don’t have the right to make decisions related to their own lives. Men make all decisions for them. If a woman dares to defend herself, they will silence her, or even kill her. In the Taliban’s eyes, women are not human. They are soulless objects.
Women are stripped of even the most basic freedoms: the freedom to leave their homes, choose their clothing, show their faces, speak, work, or build a future. They are forced to obey without any right of choice. Without a male guardian (a father, brother, or husband), a woman is not allowed to work, go out, or survive independently. Girls and women endure an unbearable reality, often forced into marriages they did not choose, bound to men they must serve, obey, and depend on. Many women are depressed, overcome with despair, attempt suicide, often through self-immolation, as they are deprived of any sense of life or freedom.
A typical day for a woman in Afghanistan is one of endless confinement. From morning to night, they solely survive within their homes-prisons, fulfilling household tasks and looking after the children. They have no opportunity for education, leisure, or personal growth. There is no progress, no hope—only stagnation and suffering. That is what the Taliban have built: A big torturous prison for women.
I am most worried about the current situation in Afghanistan. The very foundation of our society has been destroyed. We have been dragged a hundred years backward. What will the children learn other than fanaticism and patriarchy? Girls are denied even the chance to learn how to read or write. My biggest fear is that all these people will not have any future. All the country spirals into hopelessness. Any progress we had achieved has been obliterated.
My deepest wish is for peace and freedom, for all Afghans but especially for the girls. I want them to be able to go to school, build their lives and pursue their goals.
The voice of Afghan women and girls is incredibly powerful and deeply meaningful to me – every time they raise their voices to fight for their rights and freedom. We will always stand in solidarity with them.
Our power is in our unity! We must unite our voices across Afghanistan and around the world. Together, we can demand and defend our rights, our freedom, our dignity. Let us, Afghan girls and women speak! Give us the right to live!
“When the Taliban came, they even took our right to breathe” Setara* (26) – journalist, teacher and women’s rights activist
In a separate publication, we share a text inspired by Setara*’s experience, a 26-year-old journalist, teacher, and women’s rights activist currently living in Greece. Setara* spoke with us about her journey, the situation in Afghanistan, and the powerful message she wishes to send to the women and girls still living there.
a poem - in solidarity with the women and girls in Afghanistan
Poet: anonymous
Free translation from Dari
I wrote this poem with longing and a sigh, how deeply I grieve
They imprison me for the crime of the hijab1
I speak only for the silent and oppressed girls
How they perish in sorrow, trapped in the horror of your prison
Did you hear that I missed my flight?2
Do you even know?
What dreams have turned into nightmares?
Blood still drips from the wounds of my poetry, because
for in the confines of grief, I wrestle with bitter words.
As long as you bind your chains to rotten beliefs,
The air of youth slips away; I grow weary and old.
It takes hope and love for freedom to soar
Why am I always chained within circles of desire?
video | Afghan women singing resistance
video | a message - Afghan woman draws the word Freedom in the soil
*Names of persons cited in this publication have been changed to protect safety and privacy.
