Dear John,
Two weeks ago we launched a project that I’ve been hoping to see come to life since 2021. It’s a simple endeavour – we ask Afghan women to write on anything they want and we publish their words. It's also a small act of resistance – women’s voices and agency are at the heart of the Taliban’s attacks.
Our first letter, which you can read here, is from a woman called Roma. She once had a promising career. Now she is jobless. She lives in Kabul. The daily temperatures in the city right now hover just below 10 degrees during the day and close to zero at night. Her house is cold. Her child is ill. Because her family went from dual income to single, they can’t afford much. When she wrote for us she said it was one of the best things that has happened to her in years. For a moment she reclaimed her agency. She was reminded that her voice still mattered and that people outside Afghanistan had not forgotten about her. And on a pragmatic level, the payment we provided helped ease her family’s immediate suffering.
These stories are why Index exists. Since our earliest days in the 1970s, when we smuggled writing out of the USSR, we’ve understood the power of simply providing a platform. Dissent takes many forms: the bold public acts, yes, but also these quieter ones. Both are essential to keep free expression alive.
Today is Giving Tuesday. In the faith I come from, Judaism, we have a tradition called tzedakah. While it's often translated as “charity”, it really means “justice” or “righteousness”. It’s the idea that creating a more fair world is a shared responsibility, that when we have something to give, we’re called to give it. It isn’t about just one day, but one day can make a real difference.
If Roma’s voice moved you, I hope you’ll help us amplify more voices like hers. A donation today means more women able to write, more stories reaching the world and more people helped in their moment of need. If you can, please give to Index this Giving Tuesday. Your support genuinely changes lives.
