Giving Compass' Take:

• Fatana Hassanzada started her own media company in Afghanistan while being threatened by Taliban warlords. She continued to pursue a career in media and journalism and inspired other young Afghan women to do the same. 

• How can international development projects support women empowerment initiatives in countries that may have stricter gendered constructs around women's roles?  

• Read about how female Afghanistan government officials are trying to build more equality in society. 

Fatana Hassanzada was only 16 years old when she first appeared as a television news presenter in Afghanistan.

In her hometown of Mazar-i-Sharif, working in the media was a nearly impossible dream for a woman, let alone a young girl her age. It was 2009, and the Taliban were no longer in control of the country, but they still held power in some regions. A small movement to progress beyond their ideological control had begun, and some women were beginning new lives in the workforce.

Today Hassanzada is 25, and she is revolutionizing how women are seen in her country. She is the editor-in-chief of the region’s first lifestyle publication, a Vogue-like magazine for women called Gellara.

There is somewhat of a silent uprising among women in the country, who are strategically maneuvering their way to be heard and to become more visible. Using the platforms of media and journalism, which are considered radical to some people in the country, Afghan women are breaking free from past social and cultural shackles.

When Hassanzada’s image on television was broadcast across the nation at age 16, the Taliban became angry, and their warlords in her neighborhood expressed fury. Hassanzada started getting threats and warnings by the warlords and from her neighborhood elders.

Hassanzada knew if she ducked from these intimidations, it would discourage all Afghan women who were watching her career on television. If she quit, the Taliban ideology she opposed would continue to thrive.

What enraged her more, though, was how women were complacent to being treated like prisoners even after the Taliban were no longer in power. She wanted to encourage other girls and women to pursue their dreams like she had.

Read the full article about afghan women by Kiran Nazish at GOOD Magazine