
Biking on the Streets of Kabul
On our second group bike ride in Darlaman, an old man stopped us. All of us were scared, but he told us: “You girls raise Afghanistan’s flag.”
On our second group bike ride in Darlaman, an old man stopped us. All of us were scared, but he told us: “You girls raise Afghanistan’s flag.”
What kind of Afghan man would like to see an Afghan girl with a shirt and pants and a scarf that barely covers her head who has sunglasses on her head and Starbucks in her hand?
Fatima is a high school student in ninth grade. She has a Farsi blog, studies English, plays piano, and likes movies and skating. She would like to bring skating to Afghan schools and she hopes to visit “the entire world someday.”
One of the worst experiences women in Kabul have to deal with every day is harassment on the street. Every day when I go to work I see men touching, insulting, and cursing women.
Hearing about the protests gives me hope. Knowing that people in London, Australia, Kabul, and hopefully in America are protesting to raise the Hazaras’ voices makes me happy.
You do not want to know what hides behind the doors of my city, behind the chadors of every woman and beneath their injuries.
Can I talk?
No.
Can I go to school?
No.
Can I work outside?
No.
I believe the Afghan girls who cannot raise their voices today will lead Afghanistan tomorrow. I ask the Taliban: How will you oppose thousands of girls standing up for their rights? You can kill one of us, you can kill two of us, but can you kill all of us?
This past year I finished ninth grade at Marefat High School. And now I am once again going to a new school.