Rukhshana Media was created to give voice, dignity and support to the amazing women of Afghanistan, who, despite living under the Taliban, are determined not to be silenced by the most oppressive regime to women in the world.
In a society that increasingly denies women’s basic rights, such as the freedom to choose their clothes, study, work and now even speak outside the house, Rukhshana’s extraordinary team of women journalists and contributors work in secret, under the constant threat of harm and death, to report on and investigate issues related to the lives of Afghan women today.
Rukhshana’s courageous team is led by fearless Editor in Chief Zahra Joya. As a child during the first Taliban regime, Zahra disguised herself as a boy to be able to attend school. Forced to flee Afghanistan as the Taliban returned to power in 2021, Zahra tirelessly continues to fight for Afghan women’s rights through her rigorous and uncompromising journalism. In 2022, she was named Time Woman of the Year for her work with Rukhshana Media.
Rukhshana’s reports are published in both Persian/Dari and English, and under pseudonyms to protect the journalists’ identities. As Afghanistan becomes virtually inaccessible to international media, Rukhshana’s work is increasingly essential not only to inform the people of Afghanistan, but also the Afghan diaspora and the international community. Rukhshana’s stories and investigations from all the regions of Afghanistan are often published in partnership with international news organisations including Time magazine, the Guardian and the Fuller Project.
Rukhshana Media relies on the generosity of donors to continue its incredibly difficult work. Rukshana Media is a registered charity in the UK and is supported by an all-women board of trustees.
Why the name, Rukhshana?
We can’t forget Rukhshana, the woman who was brutally killed for choosing to leave a forced marriage, for choosing to live with someone she loved.
It was October 2015 when a 30-second video that depicted the last moments of a young woman surfaced on Afghan social media. She was placed in a pit at a hillside near Firuzkuh, the capital of Ghor province. A group of men who surrounded her aimed her body with stones. The video shows her last moments as she falls into death.
Her name was Rukhshana. She was stoned to death for fleeing a forced marriage for a man she loved.
Our newsroom is named Rukhshana in her memory and to remind us of the depth of gender inequality in Afghanistan, where women are killed over trying to make decisions about their bodies and their private lives. By naming our newsroom Rukhshana, we want every time someone says or hears our name, she is remembered and her tragic death at the hands of fanatic Mullahs who still live in impunity.
We created Rukhshana Media to tell the story of women from across Afghanistan, from how they are treated at home to the difficulty of gaining inclusion in a society where religious conservatism and patriarchy have ruled all aspects of social life in the past decades.
In a society that punishes women’s basic choices, bringing women’s stories to the forefront of the public is challenging. However, at Rukhshana Media, our team of women journalists is determined to report on women’s issues as a way to create debates and inform, analyze, and investigate issues related to women’s lives.
Our policy
Rukhshana Media is committed to upholding the values of democracy and human rights.
Rukhshana Media is committed to fast, accurate, and unbiased coverage of women’s issues.
To create conversations, Rukhshana Media invites all women, from across Afghanistan to write about their challenges and opportunities. We believe we cannot find a solution until we address the challenges.
Rukhshana Media is a platform that reflects and disseminates the views of women from across Afghanistan and is not responsible for publishing the content.
Editor-in-Chief and Founder:
Zahra Joya | zahra.joya@rukhshana.com
Board of Trustees:
Rukhshana Media Board of Trustees
