“Even in our wildest dreams, we could not have foreseen these dark days”

Sayara

online entrepreneur, Ghazni

“Before the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, I was a student, and due to difficulties, the duration of my university education was extended from four to five and a half years. I was in the eighth semester of my university studies, working as a trainer in a children’s support organization. At that time, I had a fulfilling role and could sustain myself, contributing to cover my family’s expenses with the income from my work.

However, with the arrival of the Taliban, my father and sister became unemployed. After some time, the decree prohibiting women from working was announced. Consequently, I lost my job as well. Finding employment in a stable position for someone who doesn’t yet possess a university degree is very challenging.

After a while, I managed to initiate an online sales and marketing business from home, allowing me to generate a modest income. Unfortunately, the Taliban do not permit this activity either, claiming that one needs a license for online work. Additionally, they have banned women from working and obtaining licenses for online work.

When the Taliban came, I felt a profound sense of loss, as if nurturing a sapling only to have it cut from the root before harvesting its fruit. We, who were university students in recent years and were expected to contribute to society, were now all confined to our homes. Even in our wildest dreams, we could not have foreseen these dark days.

Despite our efforts to stand firm, they have destroyed us with their restrictions. They have tied our hands and feet, and we have all become completely hopeless about the possibility of making progress in such an environment and under such circumstances.

Currently, I don’t have very close family members by my side, as they are enduring the hardships of migration and travel. I am facing extremely difficult conditions, and it is truly distressing that, without my university diploma, I cannot study or work.

The uncertainty of our future here, moving forward in absolute darkness, forces us to exert our will to seek out opportunities for self-improvement. We must create a glimmer of hope and light for our survival. However, this depression and unemployment are truly disheartening.

I want to continue my activities in any way possible. I wrote a book that narrates the living stories of Afghan women. In this work, I’ve made an effort to depict the lives of some Afghan women who endure hardships and struggles, aiming to convey the voices of women in my homeland to the world.

I urge Afghan girls and women to stand strong, find a ray of hope for themselves in any way possible, utilize any talents they possess, and build themselves up to remain resilient.

I call on the global community to come and see the situation of the Afghan people up close, listen to the voices of the Afghan people, and take the people of Afghanistan seriously.”

“I will never forgive the Taliban for their crimes”