By Maryam Amiri
Ashes of sorrow fall upon my heart, heavy and relentless. Each breath I take carries with it the scent of despair. I hear my footsteps, not on the bustling pavement of the street, but on the cold soil of a grave where my dreams lie.
The Taliban, with their decree, have imposed a deadly silence on this land – a deep silence of despair, a heavy silence that destroys all hope.
I am Maryam Amiri, 16 years old, a girl in this wounded land, seeking the sweet taste of life. My eyes tell of thousands of silent pains. Happy memories of the past have vanished like mirages in the dry plains of my mind.
Now, I live every day in fear.
Fear of the sharp eyes of the Taliban, fear of my footsteps being heard, fear of expressing my feelings, fear of speaking the truth.
Memories of friends I have lost pierce my heart like daggers. Four dreams, four friends, four memories, taken from me forever with a sudden shot. They fought for peace and a bright future – a future they never reached.
But I will not surrender to this blood-soaked land.
I grasp my pen with all my strength and use it to shout. A shout that carries the voices of all the girls who have suffocated in silence.
The Taliban has taken away our right to speak. They have taken our right to be heard. They have outlawed even the sound of our footsteps.
But they cannot take our pens.
With every word, every sentence, and every line, we convey our messages to the world. We will not remain silent. We will not surrender. Even though the pain of losing my dreams, the pain of injustice, the pain of despair, the heavy silence, falls on me like constant rain, I will not surrender.
I fight for my dreams, for a better future, for myself, for my family, for all the girls of Afghanistan, and all beings on this earth. I will end this heavy silence with my pen, with my words, with my being, with all of my existence.
My dreams, our dreams, have unspoken words in this silence, in this suffering, and I will shout them with my pen, a pen of hope.
Every word, every sentence, every line I write is a cry for freedom. A cry for peace. A cry for a future where the sound of girls’ footsteps is the music of life.
With my pen, with my writing, with my life, I will tell the world: I am here, we are here. Our voice, the voice of hope, the voice of freedom, the voice of peace, will not be silenced. It will echo forever.
