Batool, a professor and tireless activist from Afghanistan, shares her fight for the most vulnerable in Afghan society: women, young girls forced into child marriages, members of the LGBTQ+ and survivors of assault and abuse.
These days, I am striving just to survive. It feels as though, for women like me, simply staying alive and continuing with life is a form of resistance—an unyielding battle against all those who have tried to silence us, to cut our wings.
They are those who denied us the right to work, the right to study, even the right to walk freely on the streets, to choose, and to breathe freely, solely because we are women.
I spent years within a traditional, patriarchal Afghan family and society fighting to pursue an education. I struggled to step outside the confined walls of home, to attend university, to enter society, and to experience the independence and fresh air beyond those walls. With all the hardship I faced, I persevered and completed my education. I joined the university as a professor and started working at a centre for counselling and assisting women.
Soon, I came into contact with the transgender community in Afghanistan and realized that they were one of the most marginalized groups, subjected to continuous discrimination and abuse. Driven by compassion, I dedicated myself to supporting them, sharing my insights in Afghan media and writing about these issues in newspapers to raise public awareness.
I also extended free counselling to LGBTQ individuals, helping them to find ways to live in peace and safety.
Then came the fall of Afghanistan.
While focusing on my doctoral research – focused on paedophilia among Afghan men – the Taliban took control of Afghanistan. As my work and identity fell into Taliban hands, my life became endangered.
My beliefs in freedom, in respect for every identity, in uncovering the roots of abuse against children in a country that champions religion and Islam, all posed grave threats to my safety.
I knew they were searching for me and my family. Amidst my struggle for survival, my friends and I, along with other courageous women, organized street protests, advocating for women’s rights in Afghanistan.
From that moment, I became a visible activist in this battle, and to this day, as I write these lines, I continue on this endless journey, fleeing to survive, fighting against the circumstances that have ensnared my people, constantly searching for ways to secure a future for myself and for the women and girls of my exhausted homeland.
The cost of fighting for women’s rights in Afghanistan
Batool and her two young daughters were forced to flee their home country after death threats were made against her for her activism. While waiting to cross the border, the entire family were subject to severe beatings– including her 8-year-old daughter.
Though Batool and her family were able to escape to a safe country together, they faced a life of poverty as refugees in Europe.
Hope in the darkest of times
Batool reached out to Human Rights Protection Fund during these desperate times. We awarded here with an emergeny hardship grant to cover basic living supplies. This enabled her to continue her vital human rights work in a safe country:
A large portion of the support I received from Human Rights Protection Fund has been dedicated to aiding Afghan girls…these young women now join me in psychological sessions to rediscover hope. I am deeply grateful to HRPF who have supported me in this mission. By helping us, you help uphold justice, courage and hope for a future where all may live in dignity and freedom
I continue to raise my voice against the injustices that Afghan women and girls face. Through online support, I have helped over a hundred Afghan girls to persist, to find hope, and to believe in life once again. The fight is in staying alive so that we can build a generation that is informed, strong, and enlightened—a generation that will shape a brighter future for Afghan women.
