How my faith in youth activism and the UN was shaken, then restored by Afghan activists
Photo courtesy of Saundarya Nair
16-year-old Saundarya reflects on how meeting Afghan youth activists taught her about the power of the voices of youth activism.
In the summer of 2023, I received the news that I was being re-elected to the Girl Up Global Teen Advisory (TA) Board, for my second tenure, and this time as a Co-Chair. Already delighted by the opportunity, I was also handed the responsibility of helping conduct the interviews of the 2023-24 advisory board.
I got the opportunity to interact with girls from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh; each passionate about their unique focus areas within the sphere of gender justice. My questions cut deeper as I was interviewing candidates from South Asia, where in the northwest of the region, a gender injustice crisis was unfolding.
Yet, as I conducted the interviews, I couldn’t help but notice the fact that all of the candidates for this coveted position were from affluent backgrounds, most of whom were able to afford International School. This led me to wonder: are such opportunities only open to those from specific socio-economic strata? How far-reaching and tangible is the impact of our work — and in the larger picture — organisations associated with the United Nations? For all our aims of diversity, how inclusive are we after all?
Around this time, women and girls around the globe were risking their lives to go to school — and losing. The world watched as fragile peace was destroyed in Afghanistan. Initial outrage and impassioned promises of never letting the Afghan people witness previous horrors were followed by a deafening silence as women were berated and banned from the “radical acts” of studying, working and unveiling.
“It was an eye-opening experience for me because it was the first time I heard a first-person account of an Afghan woman. Media representation victimises them and tends to speak for, or over them, rather than amplifying their voices. ”
I watched this apathy unfold, but I never knew the true extent of it until I had the chance to talk to a young Afghan activist who fled the country upon the fall of Kabul. I met Aydin Sahba Yaqouby when we co-authored an article about the state of girls’ education in Afghanistan.
Aydin was invited to the UNGA’s 77th Session, to participate in a panel about education accessibility, as one of two Afghan girls in a room brimming with dignitaries. She waited for someone to mention her homeland, where education for girls like her was once a ticket to freedom, but now a road to punishment. Nobody did.
As she voiced her frustration and raised her concerns to the world leaders present alongside her, she came to realise that most were entirely unaware of the realities of Afghan women and girls.
It was an eye-opening experience for me because it was the first time I heard a first-person account of an Afghan woman. Media representation victimises them and tends to speak for, or over them, rather than amplifying their voices.
The actual perspective, based on lived experience, of an Afghan girl who had to flee her country to pursue education, was beyond insightful for me. It was also a shock to discover, from Aydin's experience at UNGA, that the awareness displayed by world leaders over the condition of women in Afghanistan was far from the standards of accountability we expect the United Nations to adhere to.
While it did not disillusion me from the UN, it certainly served as a wake-up call to underline the importance of youth pressure in ensuring that the UN and the International Community do not forget the communities and the people that need their tangible, concrete support, the most.
While I was struggling to reconcile the image of hope I had previously had of the UN with the reality of Aydin’s experience, I had the chance to participate in the UN Women’s Global Adolescent Girl Leadership Town Hall — an experience that bolstered my faith in the power of youth activism.
“When the leaders we choose to represent us, ignore us — and our most vulnerable — it is tantamount to evil. It is the foremost responsibility of youth leaders to press for accountability from the people in power. ”
Here, I got to learn from a group of Afghan girls. They had to take multiple measures and precautions for their safety and accessibility of the session itself — such as joining from a single device, gathering together in one room. I saw them speaking passionately with policymakers and diplomats and defying oppression quietly.
They were amongst the most active, passionate participants, talking about how they were using online education and were among the lucky few who were able to do so. They emphasised how important it was for them to have this channel of connectivity with the outside world. These activists were acknowledged for their brave and insightful contribution to the session by the moderators. That was a truly inspiring moment for me, to know that girls and women are making their mark in the UN, transcending so many barriers and risks along the way.
This experience taught me that ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance of the pain of the people. When the leaders we choose to represent us, ignore us — and our most vulnerable — it is tantamount to evil. It is the foremost responsibility of youth leaders to press for accountability from the people in power.
The road of advocacy is never smooth. We will face hopelessness and feel helpless as we encounter obstacles in our path, that will appear overpowering to us. But, at times like these the voice of a young Afghan girl braving the odds to speak up in front of a global audience, rings the loudest to me. When silence prevails, it takes only one voice to be heard. That is what we must always remember, as youth who embrace the path of change.
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