18-year-old Sama from the Afghanistan Newsroom examines how women cope with the many restrictions on their lives
At 6.30am, Nadia* quietly brews tea in her small kitchen while her children sleep. The sun barely filters through the curtained windows of their Kabul apartment. Her husband used to be the breadwinner, but following the Taliban’s return, he lost his job.
Now, Nadia embroiders clothes from home to earn money. She whispers a quiet prayer before waking the kids and beginning her day – a routine that looks ordinary, but unfolds under constant restriction and fear.
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In today’s Afghanistan, daily life for women is tightly confined. Since the Taliban took over in 2021, most girls above grade six cannot attend school. Women cannot work in most public roles, travel without a male escort, or even visit parks freely. Yet, life continues.
Women such as Nadia work from home doing sewing, baking or teaching neighbourhood children in secret. Teenage girls study from banned books in hidden corners of their homes, while others tune into online classes, risking punishment.
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Despite the limitations, Afghanistani women continue to resist – not always through protests, but in quieter, more persistent ways. For example, 22-year-old Layla* runs a secret book club in Herat. Her group meets weekly in different homes, reading novels and history books. “Reading is our way of surviving,” she says.
In Bamiyan, 16-year-old Fatima* teaches math to younger girls in her village. She dreams of becoming an engineer someday, even though universities are now closed to women. Her father built a small classroom in their backyard.
“They may block the schools, but they can’t block our minds,” she says with quiet determination.
From Kabul to Kandahar, and Mazar-e-Sharif to remote villages, women of different ages share similar struggles – but their responses vary. Older women often recall pre-2001 freedoms, guiding younger ones with wisdom. Mothers teach daughters not only how to read, but how to survive in silence.
Meanwhile, young girls, many of whom have never seen a female teacher or politician, grow up learning strength from within the home. In rural areas, women rely on community networks, finding strength in shared struggle.
Afghanistani women are often portrayed only as victims.But their daily acts – cooking for their families, secretly teaching girls, writing in journals, stitching clothes late into the night – are quiet forms of resistance. They are building lives, even when the world stops watching.
Their stories may not make headlines, but they carry the weight of survival and the power of hope. As one woman put it, “We are still here. That is our resistance.”
*Names have been changed to protect identities
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