A Message from Kabul: In Solidarity with Afghanistan

In this moment, World Pulse stands in solidarity with the Afghan people. We cannot let the women and girls of Afghanistan be silenced.

“I want all the girls and women all over the globe to remember Afghan women in their prayers. But do not only pray — also, bring those days back to them. ”

sunday morning. 7 am UTC. World Pulse received an urgent message from within Kabul. The country had just collapsed, and the message was from a young woman leader. She pleaded for the world’s women to not turn their back on her homeland.

Now we know her country has returned to Taliban rule, reversing decades of gains Afghanistan’s women worked hard to secure for themselves: the right to education, the right to work, the right to appear in public—the right to speak freely.

Read her message to the world — and find ways to take action and express solidarity with the women of Afghanistan.

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As an Afghan woman, I just want to say a few things to the world.

First: All Afghan women and girls have worked so hard to experience and build up a new life for themselves, a new future. They have worked 20 years to let their daughters, their sisters, and the future generations study in school, go to work, go to job, to build their lives, to build the future of Afghanistan.

And just in a matter of a few minutes, all of Afghanistan fell and our hearts broke down. We broke into pieces; our dreams broke into pieces.

We want to not only highlight this day in the history of Afghanistan as a black day. We want the world to remember this as a black and a very embarrassing day for the whole world, for the world leaders who solved the future of Afghanistan's generation — but who also put women and girls in the same corner of home after those many developments.

I want all the girls and women all over the globe to remember Afghan women in their prayers. But do not only pray — also, bring those days back to them. They have worked so hard. I am 100% sure no woman in the world is as strong as Afghan women.

These women, these girls, they have sacrificed their everything to reach here. And these achievements … some of these women and girls just burned their achievements. Some of them are sitting in the corner of home waiting for [a way to leave] such as me — and some are just ok with the situation because they are helpless.

So please do remember us. Do talk about us. Do not let anything stop you from talking about Afghan women.

No matter what the media does, no matter what the media broadcasts in the coming days, no matter if world leaders forget about us; you will not forget about us or stop talking about us. ”

— Name withheld

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Even as we face crisis after crisis — from the earthquake in Haiti to climate emergencies to the return of Taliban rule in Afghanistan — we must not turn away. We know that in moments of adversity and emergency, we must listen to and champion the voices and expertise of those most impacted.

And we know that power lies in cross-border solidarity and action. We must lift each other up, and show up for each other through grief and through fear.

Do not turn away from our sisters in Afghanistan: Find recommended actions below, and an opportunity to express your solidarity for those in crises all over the world. We'll do our best to get messages to those who need to hear them.



In solidarity,



The World Pulse Team and Board

How to Get Involved

Support Afghan Institute of Learning, which has been providing education and healthcare to girls on the ground since the 1990s. AIL operated 80 “secret schools” during the Taliban regime, which were closed in 2001.



Sign this online petition asking the UK government, as G7 Chair and key NATO partner, to urgently work with all parties and international allies to ensure a plan to protect the freedom and safety of Afghan women and girls.



Join a protest in your city on August 28, 2021. If you can’t find your city on the list, consider organizing a protest of your own. Anyone attending in-person events should follow local guidance related to COVID-19 safety measures.



Broadcast your message of solidarity for women facing crises all over the world. We'll do our best to get messages to those who need to hear them most.





You can find more World Pulse-curated actions for Afghanistan here. You can also help curate actions by adding a resource of your own.