Through Her Eyes starts today.
Girls in this region are spoken about constantly. In reports, in resolutions, in headlines written by people who have never met them. They are counted, cited, and legislated over. They are almost never asked.
So we are asking.
From August 18 to International Day of the Girl on October 11, IHRDC is publishing eight weeks of stories from girls across Iran, Afghanistan and the broader Middle East — in their own words, wherever it is safe to tell them.
What you'll find here is not a catalogue of suffering. It is girls talking about school, and friendship, and music, and what they intend to do with their lives — alongside what has been taken from them. Both are true at once. Flattening one into the other is its own kind of erasure.
We're not going to tell you this campaign reopens a school or lifts a ban. It doesn't. But a girl who is heard is harder to disappear, and being heard is where every other right starts. That much we can do, and we intend to do it well.
Follow along. Share what stays with you.
@iranhrdc
#ThroughHerEyes
#DayOfTheGirl
#InternationalDayOfTheGirl
#Iran
#Afghanistan
#GirlsRights
#IHRDC
Girls in this region are spoken about constantly. In reports, in resolutions, in headlines written by people who have never met them. They are counted, cited, and legislated over. They are almost never asked.
So we are asking.
From August 18 to International Day of the Girl on October 11, IHRDC is publishing eight weeks of stories from girls across Iran, Afghanistan and the broader Middle East — in their own words, wherever it is safe to tell them.
What you'll find here is not a catalogue of suffering. It is girls talking about school, and friendship, and music, and what they intend to do with their lives — alongside what has been taken from them. Both are true at once. Flattening one into the other is its own kind of erasure.
We're not going to tell you this campaign reopens a school or lifts a ban. It doesn't. But a girl who is heard is harder to disappear, and being heard is where every other right starts. That much we can do, and we intend to do it well.
Follow along. Share what stays with you.
@iranhrdc
#ThroughHerEyes
#DayOfTheGirl
#InternationalDayOfTheGirl
#Iran
#Afghanistan
#GirlsRights
#IHRDC
Five years ago, the Taliban returned to Kabul. Within a year, Afghanistan became the only country on earth that bars girls from secondary school and women from university.
In this post, we share the story of Elaheh — one woman among millions, in her own words.
Originally published by BBC Dari.
@iranhrdc
#ThroughHerEyes
#Afghanistan
#AfghanGirls
#DayOfTheGirl
#GirlsEducation
#IHRDC
In this post, we share the story of Elaheh — one woman among millions, in her own words.
Originally published by BBC Dari.
@iranhrdc
#ThroughHerEyes
#Afghanistan
#AfghanGirls
#DayOfTheGirl
#GirlsEducation
#IHRDC
Following the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement, Iranian girls and women, despite pressure, arrest, violence, and even loss of life, have not backed down from their position on compulsory hijab.
From a human rights perspective, the issue is not simply “hijab;” it is a woman’s right to her own body, clothing, and choices. No government should be able to take that choice away from women through laws, threats, or punishment.
From a social perspective, what has changed is not only the behavior of girls and women; it is the relationship between law and society. Millions of women and girls have shown that it is possible to reject a legal obligation and stand against the normalization of coercion.
The Islamic Republic continues to maintain laws and repressive tools to impose compulsory hijab and, at various points, has sought to advance the implementation of more restrictive measures. Yet, in the face of widespread resistance by women, the implementation of these policies has repeatedly encountered retreat, suspension, or delay.
This does not mean that compulsory hijab has come to an end. But an important change has taken place: the government can no longer assume that it can control the behavior of millions of women as easily as it once did through law and force.
Iranian women and girls may not have won the entire battle yet, but they have broken through the first line of defense: the belief that their bodies and clothing are under the control of the government.
@iranhrdc
#ThroughHerEyes
#DayOfTheGirl
#InternationalDayOfTheGirl
#CompulsoryHijab
#WomanLifeFreedom
#HumanRights
From a human rights perspective, the issue is not simply “hijab;” it is a woman’s right to her own body, clothing, and choices. No government should be able to take that choice away from women through laws, threats, or punishment.
From a social perspective, what has changed is not only the behavior of girls and women; it is the relationship between law and society. Millions of women and girls have shown that it is possible to reject a legal obligation and stand against the normalization of coercion.
The Islamic Republic continues to maintain laws and repressive tools to impose compulsory hijab and, at various points, has sought to advance the implementation of more restrictive measures. Yet, in the face of widespread resistance by women, the implementation of these policies has repeatedly encountered retreat, suspension, or delay.
This does not mean that compulsory hijab has come to an end. But an important change has taken place: the government can no longer assume that it can control the behavior of millions of women as easily as it once did through law and force.
Iranian women and girls may not have won the entire battle yet, but they have broken through the first line of defense: the belief that their bodies and clothing are under the control of the government.
@iranhrdc
#ThroughHerEyes
#DayOfTheGirl
#InternationalDayOfTheGirl
#CompulsoryHijab
#WomanLifeFreedom
#HumanRights
She was an economics student in Afghanistan’s Parwan Province. But when universities were closed to girls, the course of her life suddenly changed.
Losing her place at university also meant losing opportunities to earn an income. She returned to a skill that had once been just a hobby: knitting. She learned from a woman who ran a similar business and gradually developed a style of her own.
For four years, she kept going. She knitted bags, wallets, and jewelry while searching for ways to reach customers. But the challenges were significant: she had no place to work outside the home and no suitable local market to sell her products. Her monthly income was around 4,000–5,000 Afghanis—far from enough to meet her financial needs.
Then she found another path online. After taking business and digital skills training, she launched her own online shop, allowing her to reach customers beyond Parwan.
Today, she says she earns an income, is able to address some of her financial challenges, and is moving toward greater self-reliance.
The university was taken away from her, but she worked to build another path toward independence.
This story is based on a story published by UN Women.
@iranhrdc
#ThroughHerEyes
#Afghanistan
#AfghanGirls
#DayOfTheGirl
#GirlsEducation
#IHRDC
Losing her place at university also meant losing opportunities to earn an income. She returned to a skill that had once been just a hobby: knitting. She learned from a woman who ran a similar business and gradually developed a style of her own.
For four years, she kept going. She knitted bags, wallets, and jewelry while searching for ways to reach customers. But the challenges were significant: she had no place to work outside the home and no suitable local market to sell her products. Her monthly income was around 4,000–5,000 Afghanis—far from enough to meet her financial needs.
Then she found another path online. After taking business and digital skills training, she launched her own online shop, allowing her to reach customers beyond Parwan.
Today, she says she earns an income, is able to address some of her financial challenges, and is moving toward greater self-reliance.
The university was taken away from her, but she worked to build another path toward independence.
This story is based on a story published by UN Women.
@iranhrdc
#ThroughHerEyes
#Afghanistan
#AfghanGirls
#DayOfTheGirl
#GirlsEducation
#IHRDC