August 15 was not only the day our country surrendered to a terrorist group and our system collapsed, it was also the dark day when the dreams of millions of girls and women in Afghanistan were destroyed. It was the day the system fell, oppression and violence spread everywhere, and our country turned into a house of horror. Those whose hands were stained with the blood of thousands of innocents and who had no trace of humanity came to power.

Written by Arzo Gardizi, Human Rights Activist For three years now, we have been waking up each morning to the image of locked school gates, and going to sleep each night with the memory of the cries of “Bread, Work, Freedom” that once filled the streets.

On one hot summer day, after a difficult school exam, I returned home. My father called everyone and, with a voice full of concern, asked us to get ready to leave. The war in the north had intensified and the sound of clashes had filled everywhere with fear and horror. People were leaving their homes one by one to save their lives.