GIRLS ARE BREAKING THE RULES

GIRLS ARE BREAKING THE RULES

Dear Friends,

We just received this letter from Afghanistan

"My name is Gulnoor* and I'm fifteen years old.

It's illegal for girls to go to school here. My freedom, my hopes, and my dreams were taken from me the day schools closed. 

But I won't let that stop me -- I want to be a doctor one day.

So now, I go to an underground school for girls. We learn English, maths, computers -- but biology is my favourite.

I'm scared the Taliban will find us. But life without learning is a dead end."

Like Gulnoor, thousands of girls are refusing to give up hope. In the face of terrifying violence and restrictions, they are bravely defying the Taliban, slipping through the streets to attend secret, underground schools.

Taught by women forced out of employment, these classrooms are the seeds of resistance -- but the number is severely limited, and as poverty soars, many could close. We have to help!

Avaaz has contacted the teachers, and we've developed a plan to rapidly expand the network of underground schools. Now our movement could get hundreds more girls in school, funding teachers' salaries, books, and computers, in a defiant stand against oppression.

Being a girl in Afghanistan is terrifying -- but they are finding the cracks. Let's throw open the doors of learning, give girls the best chance we can, and accelerate our urgent campaigns for women's rights.

Today only one in three girls can read and write in Afghanistan. This pushes girls to the very bottom rung in society -- brutally policed in the streets, increasingly barred from work, and barely any legal protections at home.

It can seem hopeless, but thousands of girls are refusing to give up. In back rooms and basements, they're secretly soaking up knowledge to keep hope for the future alive. Now, from across the planet, our movement could help many, many more.

We cannot look away as the Taliban tightens its grip. Let's get more girls in school and intensify our campaign for women's rights -- if enough of us chip in, we will:

Expand and set up a series of new underground schools across the country;

Fund hundreds of girls to access education, providing books, computers, and learning materials;

Work with governments around the world to guarantee the right to free education in international law; and,

Accelerate new global campaigns on gender equity -- such as fighting for girl's education and an end to gender-based violence.

Everything Avaaz does is 100% funded by people like you -- the more we raise, the more schools we can fund, and the more girls we can help.

The picture in Afghanistan looks bleak. But beneath the surface, courage and determination are thriving. They take the shape of a young girl, carrying her books to a secret school, yearning for freedom and knowledge. The women of tomorrow are rising -- and with them, hope for the future. Let's give them all the help we can!

With fierce hope and endless determination,

Camille, Adela, Sarah, Anneke, Ruth, Kaitlin and the whole team at Avaaz.

PS. This might be your first donation to our movement ever. But what a first donation! Did you know that Avaaz relies entirely on small donations from members like you? That's why we're fully independent, nimble and effective. Join the over 1 million people who've donated to make Avaaz a real force for good in the world.

*Note: Gulnoor's name has been changed to protect her identity.

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