"Omid" - Hope for Afghan Girls
A new opportunity by Free to Run to bring joy and reprieve to Afghan girls and young women in crisis through physical activity
August 15th marks one year to the day since the Taliban took over the country, marking the collapse of the government of Afghanistan. After eight years of continuous growth into five provinces, Free to Run had no choice but to stop our operations in Afghanistan given the threat work like ours poses to those who assumed power. We closed our offices, burned documents, smashed computers and covered up all signs of our existence that could be used to implicate or harm our team. With your support, we raised over $75,000 USD to support the evacuation and asylum-seeking process for our most visible (and vulnerable) program staff. We are immensely grateful for how our community showed up for Afghan girls and women in the crux of this transition.
One year after the fall of Afghanistan, the situation for girls and women has deteriorated in shocking ways….
Afghanistan is the only country in the world where girls cannot attend secondary school
Women cannot go out of the house without a mahram (male escort)
There is a 75% reduction in women’s employment (U.S. Institute for Peace, Aug 2022)
Women’s protective and health services all around the country have been basically abolished
Rates of child, early and forced marriage have surged (Amnesty Int’l, July 2022)
92% of Afghans are facing food insufficiency. The country is experiencing a humanitarian disaster that always has a disproportionate impact on women and girls (World Food Program, July 2022)
And girls and women can no longer run free or play sports. It’s strictly forbidden.
While Free to Run could destroy the visibility of our work in Afghanistan, the strength and resilience that lives on in the spirits of the girls and women who designed, grew and participated in our running and leadership programs is as powerful as ever. This was abundantly clear when a handful of young leaders still in Afghanistan reached out to our U.S.-based staff several months ago. They were not asking to be evacuated. They were asking for training and resources to lead indoor fitness and support sessions for young women in their community. Based on their own journeys, they saw an opportunity for the embodied experience to provide healing and positivity for their Afghan sisters and took the initiative to help facilitate it. It was out of that conversation that “Omid” (امید) (the Dari word for hope) was born.
Free to Run participants experiencing a moment of peace in Afghanistan
Omid is a pilot program that Free to Run has developed, in partnership with young leaders, to support the mental health of Afghan girls and young women in this time of existential crisis. It is rooted in a belief that humans have a right to more than just having their basic needs met; they also have the right to develop practices that will guide them in living fulfilling and meaningful lives, including, the right to experience the joy of physical activity and all of its associated health and wellness benefits.
The Omid program model is based on a guerrilla strategy of training young women to run small-scale, indoor fitness sessions with other girls and women in their community. Every week since May, we have trained a cadre of young women in a curriculum we’ve designed. In turn, they gather and train 10-20 others themselves. It’s a quiet style of working - which is the only way to stay out of the Taliban’s path - that allows Free to Run to continue some semblance of our work in Afghanistan. We’ve been piloting this program cautiously at a local, women-led, partner organization that monitors and mitigates any possible security risk from the Taliban. Word has spread that we’re providing this support and a handful of other young women-led organizations have approached us to train them as well.
Today, we are sharing Omid with the world – and offering people who care about girls’ and women’s rights in Afghanistan an opportunity to be part of making this nascent concept a solid reality through the Hope for Afghan Girls and Women campaign. Our goal is to raise $55,000 between now and November to support year 1 expenses for Omid.
Please consider making a DONATION to keep “Hope” alive in Afghanistan. Afghan girls and women need our support now more than ever.
In Solidarity,
Sarah Murray and the Free to Run Team