Zahra Joya: The voice of the women silenced by the Taliban

Journalist Zahra Joya said the latest laws from the Taliban “doesn’t feel new” for Afghan women, as they mark three years since the Taliban takeover. Source: Zahra Joya.  

Three years after being deprived of human rights at the hands of the Taliban, more laws have been announced further silencing Afghan women. 

But for exiled Afghan journalist, Zahra Joya it “doesn’t feel new.”  

The “vice and virtue” laws from the Taliban prohibit women from speaking or showing their faces or bodies in public to avoid male temptation. 

Even in their homes, Afghan women must not be heard singing or reading aloud and are not allowed to look directly at men they are not related to. 

“It is a serious time for the international community and those who believe in human rights, women’s rights, any of those basic values,” Joya said.  

But the worsening situation has only made her even more determined to tell the stories of her countrywomen through the journalism platform she runs from her London home. 

Named in honour of a 19-year-old Afghan woman who was stoned to death in 2015 for choosing to leave a forced marriage, Rukhshana Media was created to highlight the untold stories and issues faced by the women of Afghanistan.   

Nine reporters, the majority of them female, risk their lives in Afghanistan to tell the world the truth about what is happening in their homeland.  

From violent killings and forced marriages to stories of bravery and hope, Rukhshana allows a global audience to see behind the veil of the everyday lives of the Afghani women living in repression.  

“It’s so difficult to be a journalist in Afghanistan, let alone a female journalist,” Joya said.  

“It’s my mission in this crucial time to be the voice of those who have been forced to be silent.” 

“Mum is always saying she doesn’t know what happened to her life… she went from having all her children to losing us in one morning,” said Zahra Joya – a highly regarded Afghan journalist and founder of Rukhshana Media. Source: Zahra Joya.  

When the Taliban first took over in 1996, Joya was just five years old. She would walk two hours to and from school each day dressed as a boy and calling herself Mohammed just to get an education.  

With a dream to be a lawyer after growing up with her father as a prosecutor, Joya started studying law in Kabul.  

There she witnessed what was happening to women in the bigger city and decided despite the risks of the job, she needed to be a journalist to share the untold stories of Afghan women.  

But in Afghanistan, she was never equal with any of her male colleagues. Despite her years of experience, Joya was rarely called a journalist without being labeled a “female journalist” and was never paid fairly or treated with equal respect.  

So, in 2020 she launched Rukhshana. 

“Rukhshana started from hope,” and in “the middle of chaos,” Joya said.  

“It was a difficult, but joyful moment for me.”  

Completely self-funded, and paying fellow female journalists from her savings, Rukhshana brought Joya anxiety and stress, knowing the safety risks for female journalists. 

“Rukhshana gives me meaning for life,” she said. 

“Although I am so far from what I planned for my future, Rukhshana is my baby, my passion.” 

Source: Rukhshana Media website.  

In 2022, Joya was named one of Time’s 12 Women of the Year, “I am so grateful for that, but equally it’s heartbreaking when I see back home so many girls wishing they had the freedom I did,” Joya said.  

On August 26th, 2021, just days before the takeover, Joya was forced to flee her home alongside three siblings leaving her parents behind.  

“Mum is always saying she doesn’t know what happened to her life,” Joya said.  

“She went from having all her children to losing us in one morning.” 

Now Joya, her siblings and her five-year-old niece live in London. “This beautiful city gives me a sense of home, which is something I lost.” 

“It is difficult being far from home, but I have so much freedom, especially around my gender.”  

“My siblings are free… they can be educated and live their lives. It is a great privilege compared to back home.” 

Since fleeing, Joya operates Rukhshana from her laptop and phone in her London flat and remains in close contact with colleagues in Afghanistan risking their lives to tell the world the truth.  

“Their safety and that risk they’re taking, lives with me,” Joya said. 

With little funding, running the platform is financially unsustainable, but the work must be done.  

“I am carrying the weight of trying to keep Rukhshana alive.” 

Her family and friends worry for Joya, who devotes her entire life to work.  

Joya smiles as she recalls when her mother once said “One person cannot carry two watermelons in one hand… I have to look after myself.” 

“Sometimes I feel it’s too much but when the situation is getting worse, there is no other solution but to keep going,” she said. 

Joya was named one of Time's 12 Women of the Year and received the Change Maker Award from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2022.  

This international recognition leaves Joya feeling conflicted.  

“It was so joyful, and I am so grateful for that but equally it’s heartbreaking when I see back home so many girls wishing they had the freedom I did.”  

“Their safety and that risk they’re taking, lives with me,” said Joya, who works tirelessly to sustain Rukhshana Media while remaining vigilant of the security of her colleagues reporting in Afghanistan.  

Source: Zahra Joyce 

Red Cross New Zealand reported more than 1,500 people from Afghanistan have arrived in Aotearoa on temporary or emergency visas since July 2021.  

However, three years on with civilians still suffering, Joya hopes Aotearoa will do more.  

“The Taliban are doing crimes against humanity and not enough is being reported, there is no pressure on the Taliban to be held accountable or any action from international bodies.”  

Joya says solidarity, education and protesting from government leaders to pressure the Taliban to make them accountable is what Kiwis can do to help. 

“We have to stand up against the Taliban. 

“Half of the population is being ignored.” 

However, Joya said, hope is vital: “we must not give up.”