Hearing from Afghan girls on Malala Day

Sana, Somaya, Malala and Muska (left to right) in London. Credit: Holly-Marie Cato for Malala Fund. Mural by ArtLords.

Malala makes it an annual tradition to meet girls all around the world on her birthday. This year, she visited Harrow High, a secondary school in London, to speak to Afghan girls about their journey to the U.K. and their hopes for girls in Afghanistan. The girls and their classmates also brainstormed ways to support Afghan girls who have been banned from school for more than 1,000 days. Meet three girls who shared their stories at this year’s Malala Day event.

Somaya, Muska and Sana are Afghan girls with different stories to tell about how they and their families ended up in the U.K. They also share things in common: all three love hanging out with their friends and learning from their teachers at Harrow High, miss their families in Afghanistan and wish all Afghan girls could go to secondary school, just like they do. 

Sana, Somaya, Malala and Muska at Harrow High School. Credit: Mahina Martinson for Malala Fund.

Somaya, 13, and her family left Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover in 2021 and resettled in London. “I didn’t know a word of English in Afghanistan,” she says. “I learned it in two years.” Her love of languages and drama series — her favourites are the K-drama “All of us are dead” and Turkish drama “Hercai” — has also led her to pick up Hindi, Korean and Turkish. 

Somaya wants her classmates to know that there are lots of friendly people in Afghanistan. She wishes she could go back and visit, and misses going to school with her cousins and doing pranks with them. 

Somaya loves learning languages and has picked up Hindi, Korean, and Turkish. “I didn’t know a word of English in Afghanistan. learned it [English] in two years.” Credit: Holly-Marie Cato for Malala Fund.

“What do they do apart from going to school? I know girls who used to be top of their class and now they have nothing.”

— Sana

Sana, 17, was born in the U.K. and has extended family in Afghanistan. She plans to go to university after she graduates and study psychology. Education gives her a purpose, and she is sad for the Afghan girls whose passion for education has been extinguished by the Taliban. 

“It’s heartbreaking,” Sana says. “What do they do apart from going to school? I know girls who used to be top of their class and now they have nothing.”

Sana writing a letter to Afghan girls. Credit: Holly-Marie Cato for Malala Fund.

Muska, 14, came to the U.K. as a toddler when it became too dangerous for her family to stay in Afghanistan. Her parents wanted a bright future for Muska and for her to succeed in her education and life — unfortunately the chances of that were slim in Afghanistan. Last year, she published a book called “The children of Afghanistan” about an Afghan girl growing up in a strict family and facing discrimination because of her gender.

Muska loves spending time with her teachers and classmates and feels very emotional when she thinks about the girls in Afghanistan who can’t go to school. 

“I hope that one day they will have freedom, basic human rights, go to school, go outside, say things they want to say, dress the way they want. I really hope that one day their freedom comes,” she says. 

Muska discusses the experiences of girls in Afghanistan. “I hope that one day they will have freedom, basic human rights, go to school, go outside, say things they want to say, dress the way they want.” Credit: Holly-Marie Cato for Malala Fund.

For young people who want to help Afghan girls but don’t know how, Somaya, Muska and Sana advise that they raise awareness of what’s going on in Afghanistan and how it’s impacting girls. Young people can learn about the situation, share stories of Afghan girls on social media and with their families and friends, and speak out in whatever ways they can in their communities.