I hold the light
for those that walk
in the dark.

President Biden set a deadline for U.S. armed forces to leave Afghanistan
by the end of August 2021, and the disastrous consequences of the decision to abruptly pull out have been playing out on the world stage over this past summer. As the existing Afghan government has collapsed and the Taliban has swooped in for a swift conquest, the world is once more observing the fate of the Afghan people. In the past months, attacks around the nation increased, especially as the U.S. withdrew air support for Afghan security forces. As power grabs occur, scores of children have been killed by unknown bombers—many of whom seemingly targeted young girls from poor families: yet another example of how the feminine remains under attack. Conflict, grief, fear, and anxiety are high in a country where horrific violence is already normalized.

There is an Afghan proverb: “In the land of the blind, the one-eyed person becomes king.” Certainly, darkness has been cast over the Afghan people,
and present day the one-eyed imams and politicians hiding behind the cloak of religion use the vulnerable psyches of Afghan men to enforce strict rules that impede the basic rights of women. READ MORE