The sound of explosions echoed through the house. A burst of light followed by the blast of exploding fire. Fatima sat trembling. In her mind she was not sitting on a couch in New York listening to the sound of fireworks. Rather, her mind flew her to memories of long nights when she sat with her cousins in Afghanistan, listening to explosions. Electricity would falter and the house would grow eerily silent besides the sound of bombs. The US fired relentlessly on the Taliban and everyone silently prayed they would not hit the wrong target.

Fatima’s mind took her back to her second memory when she was about 3 in Afghanistan. She could still clearly hear the voices of 40 men with covered faces bursting into her house. They yanked her father outside and stole most of their possessions. “We need to leave the country,” she later heard her father whisper to her mother.
A few months later, everything was ready and Fatima left with her family for Pakistan. They brought with them the shoes on their feet and the clothes clinging to their tired bodies in the sweltering heat. They left all else behind in fear the guards would recognize that they were trying to emigrate.

The children kept silent, suppressing the overwhelming fear they felt, but could not silence the “what if” questions rising in their minds. What if they ran out of water? What if they could not create a completely new life when everything they knew was in Afghanistan? The guards at the border demanded to know where they were headed and Fatima’s father explained they would be returning soon and had no intentions of emigrating. The children watched, dreaming this was true. They imagined their return to the Afghanistan that had existed before the arrival of the Taliban, and now lived only in their mind. The guards let the family by, acknowledging that emigrating would be nearly impossible with such few items.

Fatima’s family was unique in that they prioritized finding her and her siblings a school. The progressive values of her family allowed Fatima, as a female, to attend college at a prestigious international school called the Asian University for Women (AUW). She was awarded the Allan Rosenfield scholarship, named for my grandfather, a leader in the field of global and women’s public health and reproductive rights. She was certainly well deserved of the scholarship, as she immediately began her advocacy work around the topic of harassment, defending women from being victimized and then blamed. Her third year of undergrad, she started a club called “Speak Up.” Her goal was to encourage every woman to share her story and talk about sexual violence, which has become a disgusting norm in Afghanistan and many developing countries. She works to break the barrier of silence, inviting social workers, change-makers, sex workers and school children to express themselves on discussion panels.

Fatima wrote her thesis on sexual harassment in public places in Afghanistan. Despite risking her and her family’s safety by speaking up, she recognized talking as the only way to bring about change. After she graduated from AUW, she worked for the Ministry of Counter Narcotics in Kabul Afghanistan. She and her colleague Mursal would help other employees at the ministry working on English, technology and any projects. Therefore, when the need came about, they decided to have an Anti Sexual Harassment Campaign at the Ministry of Counter Narcotics. It was almost a full day event in which people from different medias presented. She spoke with newspaper, radio, and TV reporters. Despite the danger from talking about these taboo topics on broadcasted TV, they spoke. When a woman is harassed, she is said to be wearing inappropriate clothing or walking in the wrong place. Sexual harassment can range from men shouting sexual remarks at women, to touching them to rape. In fear, women are forced out of public spheres. “It is really hard for me to understand,” she explained “why [mainly] women get harassed-why?” When was the first time men thought they could touch women they do not know? Why isn't it discussed in academic settings? People argue this would portray Afghan men in a negative light, but “why should we ignore something that exists in society just because we don't want to destroy the image of Afghan men?” Empowering women to speak is the first step in unraveling the culture of sexual harassment.

Hearing Fatima’s story struck me for a few reasons. Most people have read of the chaos and horror caused by religious fundamentalism, but many have not met someone personally victimized. Her life was transformed by the Taliban. She persevered, but is left with psychological scars that do not easily fade. Hearing her story allowed me to give a name and face to the abstract numbers I read in the news. I want to give others a face and story to imagine when hearing about war torn countries or reading about Pakistan and Afghanistan. Fatima also taught me about speaking up in situations of injustice. She does not passively stand by as others do out of legitimate fear. For the women who have been hurt and degraded by men, and the men who think attacking another human is justified, Fatima’s speaking out can and will make a difference. We need to allow brave and honest people like her into our country for us to thrive and for them to effect change at home. I am constantly amazed how every person on the street has an incredible and interesting story I could barely even imagine.