Michelle Monaghan

I had never heard of Zahra Joya before I spotted her on the front cover of TIME Magazine last year. The accolade “Women Of The Year” was capitalised across the top of the magazine. But it was the words “Afghan Journalist” that caught my attention. 

Who is Zahra Joya?

Zahra Joya worked as a journalist under the Taliban’s strict enforcement of women’s rights and freedoms across Afghanistan.

Joya has been passionate about women’s rights from an early age and refused to accept that girls in Afghanistan should be suppressed of their freedom. She was advised by her uncle, also a women’s rights supporter, to dress as a boy so that she could attend school. She followed his guidance, choosing the name Mohammed so that she could acquire an education.

“My life journey was not easy. Every step I took was difficult.”

In an interview with TIME, she noted: “We walked two hours to school every day. It was a long walk, but it was hope for me. My life journey was not easy. Every step I took was difficult.”

Initially, Joya studied law at Kabul University. However, after witnessing how other friends and classmates had nowhere to publish their stories, she decided to become a journalist. 

I found her career change relatable as I have changed what I wanted to do so many times. It strengthens my belief that when you find the right thing, it happens at the opportune time.

Creating Rukhshana Media

For the ten years that she worked as a journalist, Joya was often the only female in the newsroom. Joya elaborated on the extent of gender imbalance in her TIME interview. After asking her co-workers why there weren’t other women, she was told that they don’t have “good capacity or skills”.

Joya was determined not to let this mindset prevent Afghan women from becoming journalists, so in 2020 she created Rukhshana Media using her own money. 

Another key point of Joya’s TIME interview was the story behind her organisation’s name. Rukhshana was killed for leaving a forced marriage and choosing someone she loved.  “She was a 19-year-old girl in rural Afghanistan, and in 2015 the Taliban stoned her and she died. I established this news agency as a reminder not to forget her,” Joya explained.

“She wanted women to see their own lives reflected in the stories portrayed, compared to those produced by male journalists.”

 Joya was driven by Rukhshana’s bravery and appalled by her unjust death. She wanted women to see their own lives reflected in the stories portrayed, compared to those produced by male journalists.  Joya displayed great courage in publicly honouring Rukhshana’s memory. Neither woman was afraid to stand up for what she believed in.

Just as Rukhshana Media began to take off, men armed with guns returned to the streets again and women were shut inside. Joya was one of many women who had to hide in fear for her life, but this was only the start of what was to come.

Return of the Taliban

A year later, on 15th August 2021, Kabul fell back under the control of the Taliban. After hearing that the Taliban were looking for her, Joya and some of her family were evacuated by aircraft to the UK.  In a 2021 profile by The Guardian, Joya spoke about the harrowing experience: “It was like a bad dream. Even on that day, it just seemed impossible that the Taliban could come to power so quickly, wipe away 20 years and drag us all back to the past.”

“Less than 100 out of 700 women journalists were still managing to work after the takeover”

Despite initial promises from the Taliban that women would actively participate in society within Sharia Law, women immediately reported the loss of their jobs. Research undertaken by Reporters Without Borders revealed that less than 100 out of 700 women journalists were still managing to work after the takeover. 

The fight continues

Although it’s hard for Joya to be separated from her home and family left behind, it has not stopped her from making women’s voices heard in Afghanistan. 

“The Taliban has not won when women like Joya keep the fight for women’s rights alive, no matter where they are.”

The Taliban has not won when women like Joya keep the fight for women’s rights alive, no matter where they are. Since settling into the UK, Joya has kept Rukhshana Media running. She keeps up to date with her team back in Afghanistan, has launched an English-language version of Rukhshana and still reports for The Guardian on life for women under Taliban ruling.

Since its launch, Rukhshana Media has become a platform for Afghan women to share about the plights they face. Stories have covered girls’ education, inequality, the loss of family and friends, restrictions against women, and much more.

It was recently reported that the Taliban’s restrictions are intimidating women in the media who are trying to expose what’s happening in the country. Female journalists in Balkh told Rukhshana Media that the past two years have been the hardest on them. Women are treated differently, receive fewer opportunities and are prevented from covering certain topics.

From May 25 onwards, Afghan women were no longer allowed to host radio or television programs. These increasing restrictions and attacks on women make the work of Joya and Rukhshana Media especially crucial. 

Empowering women

“they cannot silence us all…I will never stop resting”

When interviewed for her own profile with The Guardian, Joya emphasised: “The Taliban can use their guns and their rules to try to break the spirit of Afghan women, but they cannot silence us all… I will never stop resisting.”

Joya was one of twelve women named “TIME’s Women of the Year” in 2022. She even received the Changemaker Award and recognition for her efforts at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Goalkeepers in the same year. The BBC also included Joya in its list of ‘100 Women 2022’, which names inspiring or influential women worldwide.

Joya continues to empower all women to use their voices and speaks for those who can’t. In November, I will start studying for my NCTJ diploma to become a fully qualified journalist. At difficult times in my study, I will think back to Joya and the struggles she had to endure to achieve where she is today.

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Featured image courtesy of Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona on Unsplash. No changes were made to this image. Image license found here. 

Originally from Australia, Michelle moved to the UK to pursue her dream of becoming a journalist. She is a reporter at the Farnham Herald and a NCTJ trainee at News Associates. Michelle holds a Bachelor of International Relations and a Bachelor of Arts, with a Major in Women's Studies and a Minor in Creative Writing from Flinders University.

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