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A story about street harassment of girls and women in Afghanistan. A story about excitement, accomplishment, and a wonderful event. This story was made in a workshop facilitated by StoryCenter's Silence Speaks initiative (http://www.storycenter.org/silence-sp...), in partnership with the Afghan Women's Writing Project (http://www.awwproject.org).

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She may not have won her race, but a Saudi Arabian athlete made history today and won the support of women all over the world.

Sprinter Kariman Abuljadayel became the first Saudi woman to compete in the 100m, finishing seventh in a preliminary heat.

Standing out from her competitors in a full-body kit and hijab, she was unable to qualify for the final of the event, but was praised heavily online for her efforts.

Meanwhile Afghanistan's Kamia Yousufi also competed in a hijab and full body suit, finishing in last place in her heat.

Read more by clicking on the photo! 

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“I believe writing can be a proud experience that can make you strong”

Read the rest of Kochay’s story by clicking on the image

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Paula Bronstein's photos show how far things have come in Afghanistan, but they also show how life can still be difficult for women and girls.

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(via Soldiers who killed pregnant Afghan women followed rules of engagement – Pentagon)

Members of US Special Forces who killed two pregnant women and three other civilians during a 2010 night raid in Afghanistan used an “appropriate level of force,” according to an internal Pentagon investigation.

In February 2010, a force of US Army Rangers had entered a compound in the village of Khataba in Afghanistan’s Paktia province. Though the site had been confirmed to house “militant activity,” according to NATO, the raid resulted in the death of five civilians, two of whom were pregnant women.

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(via Court of the Desert)

I am a girl From the provinces of Afghanistan. From Ghor, Faryab, Baghlan. Call me a poor girl I do not have the ability To fight for my own rights To live and to marry.

For twenty-one years I lived under a blue burqa In dark houses fearful of the Taliban. I was not allowed outside To talk with men To see the shining of the sun.

But I dreamed of seeing nature in its beauty. Of encouraging young girls to enjoy their childhood. But my dream became a nightmare Instead of green nature I saw the wild faces of the Taliban. Instead helping other girls I was whipped.

The Taliban came after me Punished me because my brother-in-law took me to the doctor flogged us both; We were not Mahram, or family, to each other.

The Taliban took me to the burning desert, As I stood surrounded They each took turns whipping me with a long stick. I wasn’t allowed to speak If I spoke, I was flogged more roughly than before. It felt like my life was ending.

I was poor and uneducated. So I ask you: Do not be the witness to the same situations of brutality in Afghanistan!

By Sharifa

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(via A Good Citizen)

I do many tasks for others I teach students and work in an office I am daughter of my father and my mother Sister of a brother Citizen of a country I behave politely with others

No one is dissatisfied with me Everyone loves to have me around Wants me to sit with them for hours

Because I make them happy With my kindness, with smiles With lovely words

But sometimes I feel lonely Very lonely! No one makes me happy With some kindness, smiles And lovely words

My heart hurts inside But my face shows happiness outside It is the way of life

By Sharifa

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(via Letter to a Teaser Man in the Street)

You cover me with heavy black stones You would be happy If I die inside

My dark grave is your scary house Stones are its walls You don’t want me to come out

When I run free You chase me like a hungry hunter Your eyes spit needles at me

Your bitter tongue kills me four hundred times But I am going on toward my destination With no words, no reaction

And you follow me till I am gone Then you turn back

You harass me because I wear short clothes Wear lipstick, makeup And so on

But I am a simple girl With no makeup, lipstick or short clothes I follow our religious laws

So stop! Don’t put me inside your black house Is there any reason, man?

Hey, man, listen to me! It is my right to walk Be alive Breathe fresh air

Your harassment is your way Of putting me in your jail So don’t you tell me to be good

Instead put your head inside your own neck And find out your own faults If you continue to harass women, Almighty Allah will never forgive you

Sincerely yours, Sharifa

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Editor’s note: A least 161 children have been killed in Afghanistan since the beginning of 2016 in increased fighting between pro-government forces and the Taliban, according to the UN Assistance Mission to Afghanistan. It’s a 29% increase compared to the first three months of 2015.

When Wasil Ahmad was ten years old, he wore an army police uniform instead of a school uniform, a police helmet and army bag instead of a satchel for school, and he held a gun with his little hands instead of a pencil.

On the first day of February this year, Wasil was on the way to buy vegetables in Tirin Kot (the capital of the southern Urozgan Province) when suddenly he fell to the ground, his eyes half-open, blood dripping from his little fingers onto the ground. His small body was too cold. His breath came out slowly, and he had a smile on his face and felt every one of his last breaths.

Two bullets to his head from the Taliban tore him down. Now he is far away, far from this hell where he lost his father and was forced to take part in a military operation against the wild Taliban. Maybe he is happy now and with his father. He can hug his father and smell his father’s sweet scent once again. Or maybe Wasil Ahmad is narrating how he died, how the Taliban attacked him from behind. Maybe he is narrating how the Taliban shouted to him so he faced them. Maybe they didn’t give him a chance to even close his eyes before they shot him.

Wasil wasn’t a member of the military. He wasn’t a hero. So why was he gunned down?  His fault was that he was forced to take part in a military sting operation against the Taliban. Because of his intelligence and talent, he helped the army police achieve their success.

Now he is dead, and his family mourns the loss of their son. But one question confuses me: who is really responsible for Wasil Ahmad’s murder? Who really killed him?

The Taliban?

The Taliban do not seem human; they appear in front of us as human without a heart. They don’t understand happiness. They seem to only be here to torture us and kill off the Afghan people one by one. Man, woman or a child, it doesn’t matter which, they just kill for their revenge.

Was it his family?

Was it the fault of his uncle, who allowed him to get involved in military operations even though he knew his nephew’s age?

His own self?

He couldn’t be responsible for his own death because he was a kid. He wasn’t old enough to make such a decision.

What about the army police?

Considering they allowed him to work with them, was it their responsibility to take his security into their hands? They knew that getting involved in a sting operation against the Taliban with a ten-year-old boy was illegal. So how could they allow his uncle to recruit him?

Or was it the fault of the government?

They couldn’t keep the peace and give our citizens a secure life. After thirty years of war in Afghanistan we had a period in which to bring changes and security to Afghanistan. Why couldn’t the government bring more peace and security to Afghanistan during the last fifteen years? Why did they create a situation in which a child had to be involved in the fight against the savage Taliban?

Yes, Wasil Ahmad serving as a member of the army’s police was illegal, but his goal, his goodwill, were not wrong. He fought for his father, for his family, and for all of us. His father’s murder, which was committed by the Taliban, led Wasil Ahmad to fight back against the Taliban. If his father were still alive, perhaps Wasil would have continued his education instead.

His dream was to be a strong and brave member of the army police and to serve his homeland. So, now he is our little hero. I don’t want to encourage other children to join the army police, but his purpose and goodness made him a hero. I have heard that martyrs never die. They are around us always. Wasil Ahmad also is a martyr. He is alive in our hearts and our minds, and the image of his innocent and virtuous self will never be removed from our memories.

By Freshta B.

Photo courtesy of the Ahmad family.

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Where is my safe home? I am not safe anywhere. My father abuses me, My brother scorns me, My husband disrespects me, For the crime of being female!

My penalty is to be hated, Hated simply for being female, Hated for being a daughter, Hated for being a sister, Hated for being a wife.

No home is safe for me. Always I am in danger. I want a safe home, But that home will come Only after my death.

That home will be my grave. I will live without fear, I will sleep soundly, I will go into darkness, Safe at last.

By Nasrin

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Furmuli’s passion has long been education. When her family left for Pakistan, Wazhma and her siblings were able to continue their studies, which wasn’t possible back home. They returned to Afghanistan so that she and her siblings could attend college — in Pakistan, the universities were closed to Afghan refugees. And it was educational pursuits that eventually brought her to the United States. After years of studying English, she won one of only a handful of scholarships to study at Randolph College in Virginia when she was 19. Now, Furmuli is fighting to make sure the next generation of Afghan girls have the same educational opportunities she did. "My story is not a sad story," she said. "It's a success story." And it's one she wants other girls to have. She’s on the board of the Initiative to Educate Afghan Women, which provides funds and support for young women like herself (and including herself, 10 years ago) to continue their education.

Read the complete story by clicking on the photo above :) 

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Editor’s note: In this essay our writer reports how the extremist violence has affected residents of Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province located on the border with Pakistan. Suicide and bombing attacks increased as the presence of ISIS continues to grow in eastern Afghanistan. Authorities say ISIS gunmen are battling against the Taliban, with ISIS taking control of at least four districts on the border. A March 2nd suicide bomb attack outside the Indian consulate killed two and injured nineteen. A January attack outside the Pakistani consulate killed two. A January 17th explosion at a guesthouse killed thirteen. In December, Islamic State forces (also known as Daesh) beheaded five of its own members, and the militia retaliated by decapitating four ISIS prisoners and placing their heads along the road. The city is swamped with unemployed fleeing occupied districts and meanwhile a clandestine broadcast, calling itself Caliphate Radio, broadcasts its propaganda nightly in the streets.

January  6

People in Nangarhar province are facing so many difficulties this winter with both the economy and the insecurity—with the Daesh and Taliban nearby. The economic situation is very bad. I am not sure that I am safe in my home in B. District. My family and I can’t sleep at night for worry. This is the reality of our life in an insecure province like Nangarhar.

During the daytime, the children are working to help their families get enough food to eat, but the women’s voices are not heard by our police or government. I can see all of these painful things happening to women and children. It is depressing. As I write I am crying. But how can I help the people when I also am one of the victims?

There is not just one enemy: there is the Taliban, the government, and the Daesh, with their terrible customs. And there is no money. God please help us.

February 18

Nangarhar, the home of knowledge and culture, has burned in flames of fire for ten years, but it is getting worse day by day. The elders, local authorities, and the ones who claim to be the leaders of this province are guilty for all of this. Today’s situation is serious and is having a bad effect on the whole country. Over the last six months, armed groups acting in the name of the Caliphate Daesh and in the name of the Emirate of the Taliban have committed very violent acts in the eastern part of the country.  Often the violence is a result of the fighting between these two groups—each of them trying to be the group in power, each trying to be the winner.

The local elders have been bombed and blown up. It shocks the human conscience. The lives and property of our residents are not safe because of Daesh and Taliban militants. Daesh kills people and burns their houses. Then the Taliban burns the houses of the poor villagers when they take over an area once occupied by Daesh. The Taliban accuses the poor people of supporting Daesh—when, in truth, they had no choice.  The local government watches all this as if it is a game, this two-sided war, waiting to see who will win.

The people are very worried about this and face many difficulties.  They have lost hope. The Taliban and Daesh are entrenched in eight districts of Nangarhar province and fighting against each other. Hundreds of schools have been locked and closed. Depriving the children of an education is unbearable for the residents of this area. The residents are compelled to leave their homes and move someplace to escape the warfare. They spend their nights in the hot deserts of Nangarhar.

This is the result of the loss of government. If it was in another province, the president and lower level authorities would have done everything they could for the residents and would have tried to solve the issues. It is the bad luck of Nangarhar that we have very little rule in the country’s politics. The region has always been neglected by the central government and remained on the edge. Those that put on the military uniform and take the gun to go to the frontline for combat don’t really care about the people.

I ask the president to take serious steps to secure Nangarhar and focus on helping the eastern part of the country. The sacrifices of our security forces are valuable, but they must occupy the remote areas of Nangarhar to keep the people safe and secure from the penetration of Daesh and Talib militants. We hope the people will help the security forces to create a safe environment.

By Leena G.

ISIL propaganda photo.

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At least 30 people have been killed and hundreds injured in a Taliban suicide attack in downtown Kabul, the deadliest single assault by the insurgent group on Afghanistan’s capital since 2011.

A powerful car bomb exploded just after 9am local time on Tuesday at the main gate of an office responsible for providing ministerial and VIP protection and close to several government buildings.

The force of the explosion shattered windows several hundred metres away and was heard across the city.

Many of the victims were civilians, travelling through the city in the early morning rush hour, according to government officials.

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"Negin took her first steps learning music in secret, before eventually revealing her activity to her father. He encouraged her, but the reaction from the rest of her conservative Pashtun family was hostile. 'Apart from my father, everybody in the family is against it,' she said. 'They say, ‘How can a Pashtun girl play music?’ Especially in our tribe, where even a man doesn’t have the right to do it.”'

Now living in an orphanage in the Afghan capital of Kabul, Negin leads theZohra orchestra, an ensemble of 35 women at the Afghanistan National Institute for Music that plays both Western and Afghan musical instruments. When she went home on a recent visit, her uncles and brothers threatened to beat her for a performing appearance on television, and she had to return to Kabul the next day. 'Compared to women outside Afghanistan, we feel we are in a cage,' she said."

Check out the amazing story of Negin Khpalwak, a 19 year old musician, who is revolutionizing music and women's rights in Afghanistan