I, Saleha Aini, as a women’s rights activist and a small voice among millions of silenced voices, speak today of a pain that is not only mine, but the pain of a nation; a nation that has been breathing for years amidst war, politics, and injustice but has not been heard.
Five years have passed since the Taliban’s rule; five years that for many may be just a number, but for the women of Afghanistan, they are five years of silence, darkness, and the collapse of dreams. Five years in which the girls of this land were deprived of their most basic human right, which is “education.” The doors of schools and universities were closed to them, not for a crime, not for a mistake, but simply for the crime of “being a girl.”
This was not just closing the doors of schools; this was closing the doors of the future. This was silencing thousands of dreams, thousands of hopes, and thousands of potential voices that could have built Afghanistan.
The Taliban promised. They said they had declared a general amnesty. They said they had nothing to do with anyone. They said they would bring security. But the reality was something that people touched with their own flesh and blood every day. The reality was fear. The reality was disappearance. The reality was torture and the silence that was imposed on society.
Today, there are still mothers who do not know where their children are. There are still families who wait until morning for news, a sign, a voice. There are still people who are persecuted, imprisoned and tortured just because of their past, because of their job, because they once served.
And in the meantime, the most painful of all is the silence. A silence that sometimes comes from within, and sometimes is imposed from without.
What breaks my heart the most is not only the actions of the Taliban; it is the political games that are being played over the fate of the Afghan people. Meetings, deals, and interactions that are carried out without considering the will of the people show that the voice of the Afghan people, especially women, is still marginalized.
People who have paid a heavy price in the past twenty years. Soldiers who lost their lives, families who were left without guardians, children who became orphans, women who carried the burden of life alone. All of this was in the hope of a better future. But today, the same people are once again in a cycle of despair and fatelessness.
And in the meantime, the women of Afghanistan…
The women of this land have been and continue to be the greatest victims of this situation.
Women who were deprived of work.
Women who were deprived of education.
Women who were even deprived of being present in society.
But with all these pressures, with all these restrictions, they are still standing. They are still resisting. They are still keeping hope, however small, alive in their hearts.
As a member of this community, I cannot and do not want to remain silent. Silence is a betrayal of the truth. Silence is a betrayal of women who no longer have a voice. Silence is a betrayal of a future that can still be fought for.
I ask the international community not to forget Afghanistan.
I ask human rights institutions not to be satisfied with statements alone.
I ask every free person not to remain silent in the face of this injustice.
Afghanistan is not just a country; Afghanistan is the story of people who are still fighting for the right to live, the right to education, and the right to be.
And I, Saleha Aini, will be the voice of these people as long as I breathe.