Ending 2017 on a Good Note

The following article can be found on https://www.freewomenwriters.org, a sister organisation run by WLUML networker Noorjahan Akbar. Free Women Writers works to improve the lives of Afghan women through advocacy, storytelling, and education.

Dear readers,

The year is almost at its end. We want to take some time to thank each and every one of you for your support and solidarity throughout 2017 and share some of the year’s highlights with you.

To begin with, we held a fantastic event in Balkh and another one in D.C.

With your help, our reach nearly doubled through social media, our website, and partnerships with other platforms and newspapers, including Rustam Radio station in Afghanistan. Our all-volunteer collective increased in numbers and we published hundreds of new pieces of literature.
Our advocacy against gender-based violence and in defense of women’s human rights caught global attention. We were quoted in the BBC, the Guardian, Foreign Policy, TF1,Public Radio International and Ms. Magazine among many other incredible outlets. We presented at the One Young World Summit and won the Global Thinkers Forum’s 2017Award for Excellence in Women’s Empowerment.

As if that wasn’t enough, we also registered as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization in Washington, D.C. And we published our book You Are Not Alone for women facing abuse in Afghanistan in Persian, Pashtu, and English.

None of this would’ve been possible without your support! We are eternally grateful to all the generous souls who donated to the fundraising campaign for our book, to organizations and platforms that have supported us and uplifted our voices including Stop Street Harassment, Girls’ Globe, Bamyan Foundation, Story Center, and Women You Should Know, and to our dedicated readers and allies. We are also grateful to the 130+ women and allies who’ve written for us in the past four years. Your voices matter. Your stories are heard.

We have a million ideas (current estimate) for our work next year and cannot wait to start 2018 with fresh energy. However even activists -or maybe especially activists- need time for rest. Because we are all volunteers with day jobs, educational pursuits, family obligations, and other human responsibilities, we are taking the rest of the year off for self-care. We hope you too will take some time to celebrate life and your accomplishments with your loved ones.

Happy Holidays and New Year from the Free Women Writers family to all of you!

With Love,
Free Women Writers

The original article can be found here.