The Unbreakable Voice of the South: The Story of Wazhma Tokhi

The Unbreakable Voice of the South: The Story of Wazhma Tokhi !

AFGHAN WOMEN

PAHARI BARUAH

Born in 1998 in Zabul province – the same southern region where Taliban leader Mullah Haibatullah lived and still rules from today-Wazhma Tokhi grew up knowing that being a girl with a pen in her hand could mean risking her life. In the South – Zabul, Uruzgan, Kandahar, and Helmand – many areas remained under Taliban control long before 2021. Extremism defined daily life: schools were burned, girls were banned from classrooms and work, and women were silenced.

But Wazhma knew one truth: education deserved every risk. For her, it was not only power-it was freedom, dignity, and the future itself.

“Education means we are not prisoners of the present. It means we have hope, we have choices, and we can rebuild our country.”

Defying the Taliban’s Shadow

In the very provinces that the Taliban claimed as strongholds, Wazhma established underground classrooms for girls. In hidden spaces, she taught them to read, to write, and to know their worth. For these girls, education was not just learning—it was survival.

The risks were immense. She received many Taliban threat letters, endured attacks, and by 2021 her name was placed on a Taliban target list. Yet she continued-because, in her words, education was worth every danger.

From Education to Women’s Rights

While her fight began with classrooms, Wazhma soon became a voice for all women’s rights in the South-the rights Islam and Afghan law promised but extremists in Taliban-held areas denied. She advocated for women’s right to study, to work, to participate in public life, and to live with dignity.

By her early twenties, she had already trained thousands of activists and dozens of organizations, building one of the strongest grassroots advocacy movements in Afghanistan’s hardest provinces.

Founder of Pohana Fund

Wazhma’s vision extended beyond personal activism. She founded the Pohana Fund, dedicated to supporting girls’ education in Afghanistan. Through the Fund, she has helped sustain secret schools inside Afghanistan, ensuring that even under Taliban restrictions, girls continue to learn.

“The national flag will be flown again! The flag is a symbol of freedom، devotion and national identity. Afghanistan has a national flag and it is the black، red and green flag that represents the sacrifices of the people، the blood of the martyrs and the green future. This flag will fly again in the sky of truth, justice, and freedom.“- Wazhma Tokhi

Education and Leadership

Alongside her activism, Wazhma pursued her own studies-earning a bachelor’s degree in Law and Political Science from Malali Institute of Higher Education. Her education gave her both the tools of law and the moral conviction to defend women’s rights against extremists.

The Collapse of 2021: A Stolen Future

When the Taliban seized Kabul in August 2021, the fragile progress of Afghan women was erased overnight. Schools closed. Universities were barred to girls. Women were excluded from work and society.

“We did not just lose a government; we lost our future. We lost the space where women could grow through education, work, and participation. Everything we had built was stolen in one day.”

WAZHMA participated in an event hosted by @WCRAN_ORG during the 59th session of the UN Human Rights Council, titled “From Treaty to Action: Building a Global Alliance in Support of Afghan Women,” held on June 23, 2025, and said boldly :

Here is an excerpt from the speech:

Since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, Afghanistan has become a place where hope is dangerous, ambition is punished, and half the population women and girls is being systematically erased from public life.

Let me be absolutely clear:
This is not culture.
It is not tradition.
It is not religion.
It is systemic oppression.

Afghan women must not be sidelined, observed from a distance, or tokenized in global dialogues.
They must be centered in every conversation, every negotiation, and every action that shapes their country’s future.

Because here’s what the Taliban and every tyrant fear most:

You can bar a girl from a classroom, but you cannot bar her mind from seeking knowledge.
You can silence a voice, but you cannot extinguish the dream of freedom burning in her heart.“

And she explained the reason behind the Taliban’s fear of women’s education:

“They know that an educated mother will not give birth to a Talib. They know that if women are educated, they will not raise sons who burn, destroy, and kill. They know that when women learn, the next generation will reject extremism—and that means the Taliban cannot stay in power.”

Exile Without Silence

Forced into exile in Germany, Wazhma did not stop. She became an even louder voice-speaking on global stages, joining campaigns, and challenging governments who sought to normalize the Taliban. She carried the voices of Afghan girls with her, ensuring the world could not forget them.

“Afghan women are the bravest fighters-undefeated heroines in a weaponless battle.”

To the girls still under Taliban control, she sends this message:

“You are not alone. Education is not only knowledge-it is freedom, dignity, hope, and the strength to build a new tomorrow.”

The Symbol of a Struggle

Wazhma Tokhi’s story is not just her own. It is the story of Afghan women who resisted extremism in the very provinces where the Taliban’s control was strongest- the very region the Taliban’s leader himself calls home.

Born in the South, she built underground schools where girls were banned, fought for rights extremists denied, founded the Pohana Fund to carry forward education, and became a global advocate in exile.

Her journey-from secret classrooms in Zabul to international platforms-embodies one timeless truth:

Education is not only power. It is freedom. It is dignity. It is the future. And no regime, no extremism, and no leader can erase it.

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