August 15th is the one-year anniversary of the collapse of the Afghan government and the Taliban takeover. It has been heart-wrenching to watch the Taliban roll back all women’s basic human rights — to be educated, to earn a living, to leave their homes freely and be an active part of their community.
The schools I had started in 2003 where we educated boys, girls, and women in the province of Ghazni have been closed. The director of our school had to leave Afghanistan under the cover of the night after the Taliban raided her home and left a night letter threatening her.
Many of our teachers moved to Kabul and those students who had the financial whereabout to leave the country have left and others have gone into hiding.
My aunt and two female cousins still live in Afghanistan. Their life has been turned upside down in the past year since they no longer are able to move around the city or travel without a male chaperone and my cousin's daughter can no longer attend University.
The Afghan economy has collapsed due to the US government withholding $7.5 billion of Afghan people’s assets
Spurned by the Taliban, Biden moves to split $7 Billion dollars of Afghan assets - New York Times
Over half of the Afghan population are at a starvation level and the unemployment rate has skyrocketed.
If you want to raise your voice to support the Afghan people, here are some easy actions you can take go to my Action for Afghans page.
I know there are many terrible things happening in our country, Ukraine, and around the world. I really appreciate you staying engaged with the plight of the Afghan people. It's not the women, the girls or even the everyday man who has any power over their lives. It's the power brokers and politicians (everywhere) who make decisions to move forward an agenda even if it is at the cost of everyday people.
I encourage you to share this post with others, not to donate, but to stay informed of what is going on in Afghanistan.