An emerging protest group in Afghanistan is buying books and giving them away to those who are denied an education under Taliban rule.
The group, which calls itself the Powerful Women Movement, began this campaign on Tuesday with ten books on women’s empowerment that it sourced and then distributed to girls and women in Kabul.
Azada*, one of the group’s members, told Rukhshana Media that their goal is to motivate women and girls despite the extremely challenging situation for them in Afghanistan.
Azada said the book distribution took an hour and was hidden from any Taliban notice.
“The books were distributed within an hour. We went behind the houses of some girls, opened their gates one by one, and gave books as gifts,” she said. “The books are motivational. For example, the titles are things like Women’s Successes, Be Yourself, Why Should Women Apologize. We want to show the girls that there is still a way to be successful.”
In a statement, the protest group said that after two years of education deprivation of girls and women, the Powerful Women Movement are rolling up their sleeves to bring education and knowledge to girls’ homes.
It continued: “After months of waiting for the reopening of the gates of educational institutions, the Powerful Women Movement are handing out books to help change the path of women’s suffering so that they can survive mental depression and psychological issues.”
These group is purchasing a wide range of book genres – motivational, fiction, and informative books – from bookstores in Kabul city and giving them as gifts.
“We read, we know and we move forward. We offer knowledge against the tyrannical, dark-minded, and woman-killing regime. A book narrates a life, and we are the narrators of the dark age of the Taliban,” the statement said.
