Determined to create opportunities for Afghan girls, Robina, who now lives in Germany, founded Girls on the Path of Change (GPC), an organization and online community that empowers Afghan girls to share their stories and pursue online educatio

Before the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in August 2021, I lived with my family in the Balkh province in northern Afghanistan. I was attending school without concern and aiming to graduate.

I had lofty ambitions, promising myself I would study at a reputable university in the hope of one day helping my country, as well as girls who were deprived of a proper education. Every day, I aimed to achieve excellent grades. I would lie awake at night, eager to attend school the next morning.

I left everything behind: my school, classmates, 
exams, dreams and books.

Robina Azizi

On 10 August 2021, I was due to travel home with my friends after finishing a school exam. However, I felt as though something bad was going to happen. On my way home, I looked down the streets and alleys of Mazar-i-Sharif as if I wouldn’t see them again. When I got home, my mother was packing our belongings. 

“We’ve booked your flight ticket; we have to leave. The Taliban have taken control of the districts of Balkh. They might come into the city,” she explained. “The Taliban takes girls into captivity and forces them into marriage. The lives of your father, brother, and sister are in danger; we must go. You are a writer and have always written against the Taliban. If they find your writings, they’ll kill you too.”

The next day, my family and I flew to Kabul. I left everything behind: my school, classmates, exams, dreams and books.

Learning to survive

When we arrived, Kabul had not yet fallen and girls were still attending school. I longed to join them. I wrote to myself: ‘I have come to survive.’ This sentence became my mantra. Every day brought news of the Taliban spreading fear and seizing more provinces. Yet I still hoped to return to Balkh so I could go back to school.

However, five days later, on 15 August, we witnessed the return of the Taliban in Kabul. The President fled and the Taliban took control in hours, announcing a ban on education for girls of secondary school age a month later.

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With any hope of returning to education taken away, I realized I had to do something. I returned to my books and started striving for a better future. I found courses in Kabul, started studying English and reading again. As it was dangerous to go outside to study, I tried to take the courses secretly. I promised myself that, despite thousands of problems, I would fight for myself and the girls of my country. I started raising awareness among Afghan families, trying to make them understand the importance of their daughters’ education, urging them to let them continue their studies.

Later, with the help of my instructors, I enrolled in an online school despite not having the required documentation. While there, I encouraged other girls to join me and helped them with their English courses. Days passed, and I started getting used to the deprivations of the Taliban’s hardline rule over the country. To nurture my talents and share my story, I spoke with media outlets like Tolo and other broadcast programs about the importance of girls’ education. 

Give girls a chance

We were eventually forced to leave Afghanistan to save our lives and to ensure I could still go to school. I knew I needed to support my classmates, friends, and those who had lost their morale and needed help. After all, I’d personally experienced what it was like to be deprived of an education in Afghanistan. I always thought about these girls and wanted to stand by them. I established Girls on the Path of Change to amplify their voices, share their challenges and stories with others, and create an avenue for them to access online education and continue their studies.

Afghanistan needs strong, educated women.

Robina Azizi

Moving forward, I am working with organizations such as Amnesty International to ensure international pressure continues and that governments around the world are held accountable for their weak stance against the Taliban’s systematic abuse and discrimination [of women and girls], which amounts to gender persecution.

As a girl who once lived in Afghanistan and was deprived of my right to education, I call on everyone to support girls’ education. Education is essential, and girls in Afghanistan must not remain illiterate. Afghanistan needs strong, educated women. We must not give up, even if we must fight from our homes. Together, we must stand firm, move forward with determination, and prove that the ignorance of the Taliban is no match for the power of knowledge and education.