“Street harassment of women is violence. Break the silence.”

20-year-old Noorjahan Akbar is one of the most inspirational people I’ve ever met. In May 2011, she co-founded Young Women for Change in order to improve the economic, social, and political opportunities of women in Afghanistan.

Street harassment is one of their main issues because it limits how involved women are in public activities. As the poster to the right says, “Street harassment is violence. Break the silence,” and breaking the silence is exactly what Akbar and YWC are doing.

To name just a few of the many anti-street harassment actions they’ve taken since May, they held the first-ever march against street harassment through the streets of Kabul in July and they’re working on a documentary about street harassment. Most impressive, they are spearheading a 4,000 person survey on the topic and the results will be released in February.

Right now they are soliciting posters about gender violence issues, including street harassment, and on December 14, volunteers will physically post them all over Kabul.

It’s amazing how much they’ve accomplished since May.

After months of online correspondence, I made a special road trip to Philadelphia last weekend to briefly meet with Akbar. During the conversation, she mentioned that she was “so happy, the last time I went home I went a month without being groped” on the streets of Kabul. I can’t imagine how unsafe the streets are for women if that is her reality — and it also speaks to her bravery in organizing against it. (Akbar noted that street harassment is still quite bad for her when she is at college in Pennsylvania, but it’s usually verbal.)

Akbar kindly allowed me to videotape her talking about YWC’s anti-street harassment efforts and how you can become involved (sorry the setting was a bit noisy).

I’ve donated to help YWC continue their work and I hope you will, too.

Website: Young Women for Change
Donate: wepay.com/donate/youngwomen4change
Email: info@youngwomenforchange.org
Facebook: Young Women for Change & Stories of Harassment of Women in Afghanistan