Forced to flee their country after the Taliban takeover in 2021, four Afghan women leaders struggle to keep the world’s attention on the unfolding crisis, while coming to terms with what it means to have their power usurped and two decades of progress dismantled. From their distant exile countries, these four female leaders – past parliamentarians, ministers, and journalists – watch the Taliban strip women and girls of the right to be educated, to work and to participate in society. No longer in positions of influence, they are forced to reinvent themselves to continue the fight for a free and just Afghanistan. Can these women succeed when the world’s attention has turned to the following headline and even the greatest superpower has admitted defeat?

When US and allied forces transferred power to the Taliban in August 2021, the international community robbed Afghan women of their fundamental rights and freedoms. Afghanistan is the only country in the world where girls older than 12 cannot go to school. Women are no longer free to visit parks or gyms; they are banned from working for NGOs and the UN. With each Taliban decree, human rights advocates have called for gender apartheid to be listed as a human rights crime. Our overarching campaign goal is to better Afghan women's lives and give Afghan women a voice in the diplomatic discussions that will decide their fate. With goals ranging from changes in international law to fundraising for Afghan girls' education, we aim to connect with a wide variety of partners to safeguard the status of women everywhere.