Letter to the United Nations

To the United Nations,

I am writing this letter on behalf of all Afghan girls.

I am Shegofa Shahbaz. I am twenty years old. I grew up among the dust and smoke of explosions, gunshots, fire, war, and sad stories. I grew up with fear. Fear of an explosion inside our classroom, fear of not seeing my family again, fear of losing my friends, and fear of losing my dreams. Beside all those sad stories in my life, I had a hope for a better future, but when the Taliban took the control of Afghanistan, my dreams were destroyed. Not only my dreams but the dream of all Afghan girls destroyed, and the page of history returned to twenty years ago. Now I have no hope for a better future in Afghanistan. 

It has been almost two years that we have been waiting for you to take action. We expected you to not be just a viewer. In the past twenty years we have made progress in every area. We hoped that we would not go back, and we didn’t even see this day in our dreams. The government falling at the hands of Taliban was the start of dark days in Afghanistan. Darkness in a country which was a member of the United Nations can be darkness in the world. 

These days we hear that the United Nations is trying to recognize Taliban, want to accept them as a legal government. But here in Afghanistan, it is almost two years that we are not allowed to go to school and university, we have not had the right to work outside, we do not have the right to go to parks, and we have not even had the right to live as humans. We know that you know, that you are aware of this situation in Afghanistan, but we want you to not be silent. It is time to take action against this cruelty and injustice. We want you to not recognize Taliban. If you recognize them, you commit the greatest injustice against the people of Afghanistan. 

In this modern era, in the time that all countries in the world are progressing, it is not fair that Afghanistan stay dark. Most of the countries in the world have achieved scientific progress. Humans are trying to find a place to live on other planets, but in Afghanistan, women and girls do not have basic human rights.

In past years, we witnessed all the crimes of Taliban. This group which has the authority in Afghanistan has committed inhuman crimes against the people of Afghanistan. They exploded the hospitals and educational centers, beheaded innocent people. If you recognize them, you will give legitimacy and rights to a criminal group. If you recognize them, you will do the greatest injustice against women and girls in Afghanistan.

5 May 2023

Shegofa Shahbaz