Hope in the Midst of Hardship

We live in a place where having hope and dreaming, especially for a girl, seems to have become forbidden. Simply because we are girls, we have been deprived of everything—of having dreams, of living, and of so many other things.

Yet despite all of this, we will continue to fight: for freedom, for the right to hope. No matter how difficult our circumstances become or how harsh the challenges we face, we will keep fighting and we will never surrender. Because we have no other choice. Either we accept defeat, sit at home, and destroy our dreams with our own hands, or we fight, endure the pain, and rebuild ourselves.

For everyone—but especially for a girl—having dreams is the reason to live. We are willing to fall again and again for that reason, to rise every time, and never give up. To us, our dreams are as important as being alive. It does not matter what people say or how they judge us. What matters are our goals and our dreams, not the opinions of others. Those who ask us to abandon our dreams are, in truth, asking us to stop living.

Although the days we live through often feel more like the survival of the body than of the soul, our spirits are tired and wounded, yet we still fight for our dreams. This broken heart still beats for its aspirations and keeps hope alive within it.

Sometimes I tell myself: a girl is such a remarkable and, at the same time, powerful being. Even though she is constantly criticized and told, "You have no rights," she continues as if she hears nothing and keeps walking her own path. Sometimes, witnessing this resilience brings a smile to my face.

Yes, I believe that being a woman is an honor. A woman fights for her dreams and faces the world for them. She never lets go of what she loves—her dreams and her goals—even if she is constantly suppressed and surrounded by despair.

Some people say women are weak because they cry in difficult times. But they do not understand that tears are not always a sign of defeat. We women become stronger, more determined, and more resilient with every tear we shed. Tears are nothing; we have witnessed a history of cruelty. We have seen oppression. We have seen schools closed, pens broken, grieving mothers, unemployed fathers, war, displacement, and young lives lost. We have seen freedom only in our dreams, never in reality. We grew up, but we never truly had a childhood.

Do not speak to us about being strong; we have lived through days that are difficult even to imagine. Despite all this pain, Afghan women have learned not to fall and to stand by one another. They have learned to keep the light in their hearts alive even in darkness. They have learned that if their voices are silenced, even silence can become a cry; if doors are closed, a new path can be created. Afghan women were broken, yet they did not break. They burned, yet they did not fade away.

Having dreams without hope is meaningless, especially in the circumstances in which we live. On the path toward our dreams, we will face countless ups and downs. If we lose hope and become discouraged by every hardship, our dreams will disappear. A victory achieved through suffering, pain, and perseverance has a different and far more precious meaning.

So we must hold on to hope and begin with small steps. Those steps may seem small, but they bring us closer to our dreams every single day. Through those small steps and our continuous efforts, one day our achievements will echo around the world.

Every time we fall and rise again, we bring ourselves back to life. This perseverance is not only about reaching our dreams; it is a sign of our strength—a sign that we do not know the meaning of surrender. We strive for a brighter future, even if today there is no visible sign of it.

The day will come when the stories of Afghan women who endured so much pain and reached their dreams through countless small steps will be told. We still believe in a tomorrow when Afghanistan will breathe again, when our voices will be heard, and when the world will finally understand the suffering Afghan women have endured.

No storm lasts forever. The day will come when we are freed from these hardships—the day we return to school, study in freedom, and dare to dream openly once again.