Journalist Honored by Gates Foundation for Telling Stories of Women in Afghanistan: 'It's a Critical Time'
Vivek Vadoliya Zahra Joya
For journalist Zahra Joya, getting an education was a "golden opportunity." Now, she's using her platform to help give a voice to women in Afghanistan, sharing important stories that may have otherwise never have been recorded.
Joya, the founder and editor-in-chief of Rukhshana Media — an online news organization made up of predominantly women journalists who exclusively report on the issues facing women in Afghanistan — was one of four world leaders honored earlier this month as a winner of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Goalkeepers Global Goals Awards.
The 2022 Changemaker Award, which was presented to Joya by Angelina Jolie, celebrated the journalist "for her work to ensure women's stories in her home country are reported on and reach the attention of the wider public," according to a press release.
The other award winners are Radhika Batra, co-founder of the nonprofit organization Every Infant Matters; Vanessa Nakate, a climate justice activist; and Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission.
Paula Lobo/Getty (L-R) Bill Gates, Radhika Batra, Vanessa Nakate, Zahra Joya, and Melinda French Gates
Joya, now 30, was five years old and "very excited to go to school" when the Taliban first took power in Afghanistan. Although they banned girls from going to school, Zahra had "two powerful" and supportive uncles.
In order to make going to school possible during that time, Joya had to wear boy's clothes. Although she said that eventually some of her teachers knew what was going on, "they didn't show any reaction."
"For me it was a chance," she said.
Joya was a "very intelligent student" who was frequently at the top of her class — and with the continued support of her family, she went to law school in 2011.
However, it wasn't long until an alternative path found her. During her very first semester, Joya said she was struck by how many women had stories to tell — but no platforms to do it. Around that time, she began her career as a journalist, working with a local news agency.
Eventually, Joya became fed up with the way most organizations in Afghanistan talked about gender equality. She also grew tired of being the only woman journalist in the newsroom.
"I decided to establish Rukhshana to record all the things that happened for women," she said, adding that having a team of women sends a "very powerful message" in a patriarchal country.
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Although Joya's organization has always faced challenges, since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021, the difficulties have increased.
In addition to security and safety concerns, many of her colleagues — Joya included — are no longer in Afghanistan. Getting access to information is another challenge they face.
"But unfortunately, Afghanistan right now is full of stories," she said. "And all of these stories are very painful and heartbreaking."
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Joya, who left Afghanistan last summer and is currently living as a refugee in the U.K., said she first learned she would be the winner of the 2022 Changemaker Award via e-mail, though she wasn't sure if it was real.
"I sent the email to my colleague and said, 'I think it's an advertisement,'" she recalled. Now that reality has set in, Joya says being recognized for her achievements is an "amazing feeling."
"It means my job and my colleagues' efforts are seen and appreciated," she says. "And it gives us lots of energy and encouragement to go ahead, even with a lot of problems and challenges."
Vivek Vadoliya Zahra Joya
When it comes to her organization's continued work, Joya says that "it's a critical time for Afghan women."
"Women, they are disappearing from social life and from society even," she says. In addition to recording all of the "awful changes that happen," training the next generation of female journalists remains another top priority.
In her acceptance speech, Joya said that it's "impossible to explain in words how much Afghan women have lost in just one year."
"We are now fighting for our basic rights. The right to go to school. The right to be allowed to work. The right to wear what we like," she said, according to Rukhshana Media.
"I want to tell you from here that we will not surrender to the forces of darkness," she added. "We should defeat the darkness, and together, I believe we can."
