It only cost Zahra a few dollars to buy bottles of black and red spray paint. But if she were caught painting slogans in the streets of Kabul, messages that criticize the Taliban and advocate for women’s rights, the price would be high indeed.
In one video Zahra posted on social media, she scrawls “Education, employment, freedom” on a wall as a friend shouts at her to move quickly: “Hurry, hurry, Zahra, hurry up!”
In these videos, Zahra disguises herself with a cap and a face covering. She puts on a different jacket as she nears the area where she’s going to paint her message. She’s mindful of using different routes to get around the Afghan capital. Zahra said she is scared, but that she fears the Taliban for the same reason she fears “a forest full of wild animals in the dark.”
Zahra, who asked to be identified only by her first name to protect her safety, has spray-painted these messages across the city on at least two occasions: in December, when the Taliban first announced that it would no longer allow women to attend universities, and earlier this month, when the group made good on its promise.
“[The] wall symbolizes women’s resistance against Taliban,” Zahra told HuffPost. “It is my podium when the Taliban silences our voices in the streets.”
Zahra was supposed to start her final term of university soon. She was on track to complete her senior thesis and graduate in the summer.
“My dreams were crushed,” Zahra said. “I always pictured myself the day when I am confidently presenting my thesis to the committee; the graduation day where I am walking across the platform in a gorgeous gown and towering heels with beautiful makeup on, receiving my diploma from my professor and celebrating my achievement.”
When the Taliban took over Afghanistan in 2021, the group banned women from attending secondary education. Women were allowed to attend university, but they had to adhere to strict rules such as attending classes separately from male…
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