An Afghan activist honoured with the UAE's $1 million Zayed Award for Human Fraternity said the prestigious prize highlights the “courage and resistance” of the women she has dedicated her life to protecting.
Zarqa Yaftali was recognised for her efforts to deliver a crucial lifeline to more than 100,000 women and children in Afghanistan being deprived of the basic rights many around the world would take for granted under strict Taliban rule.
Ms Yaftali is the executive director of the Women and Children Legal Research Foundation, a civil society organisation founded in 2003 that works across several provinces in Afghanistan to widen support networks through legal research, advocacy, education initiatives and community-based services.
The foundation has played a crucial role in establishing more than 100 schools and expanding access to education for girls in conflict-affected areas.
Ms Yaftali said the progress Afghan women had made over two decades after 2001 had been dismantled since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.
“Overnight, Afghan women were deprived of their rights to education, political participation and social participation,” she told The National.
A ban on female pupils and students attending schools and universities was among a series of restrictions placed on women's rights since the Taliban takeover, which came after the US-led international withdrawal.
Draconian measures beyond limits on education have included bans on women taking jobs, appearing in public without a full-body covering, or niqab, and travelling without a mahram – a male guardian – as well as participating in sports.
In recent years, as girls’ access to secondary and higher education has been systematically curtailed, Ms Yaftali has shifted much of her work towards alternative pathways.
Her organisation runs Kabul Online School, providing remote education for girls from Grade 7 to Grade 12 who are barred from attending classes in person.
It also supports young women who were previously university students in fields such as law, political science, journalism and medicine, helping them continue learning and build skills despite being forced out of formal education.
According to Unesco, about 2.2 million girls are currently denied access to formal schooling beyond primary level in Afghanistan.
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has repeatedly warned that the sweeping restrictions imposed since 2021 amount to systematic discrimination against women and girls, describing the situation as one of the most serious women’s rights crises in the world.
Hope stripped away
The impact was also deeply personal. Ms Yaftali herself was denied the opportunity to continue her education during the Taliban’s first period in power between 1996 and 2001, before being able to resume her studies after their removal.
“After the first Taliban regime fell in 2001, women had the opportunity to return to school, university and work,” she said. “Women became part of politics, led public and private institutions, and served as members of parliament. We saw real improvement. All of that has now been taken away.”
She said restrictions had intensified through a growing number of decrees limiting women’s movement, work and access to services. According to her organisation’s tracking, hundreds of edicts have been issued since August 2021, with the majority directly removing the rights of women and children.
Despite this, Ms Yaftali said Afghan women continue to demonstrate resilience and determination, advocating for their rights both within the country and through international channels.
Reflecting on the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity, she said the recognition belonged not to her personally, but to Afghan women as a whole.
“This award is not a personal honour for me,” she said. “It is recognition of the resistance and courage of Afghan women. It sends a clear message of solidarity and shows that the world has not forgotten Afghan women.”
She said the award’s significance lay in its timing, as global attention is often diverted by overlapping crises.
The award’s focus on Afghanistan follows its recognition earlier of a Palestinian organisation working in Gaza, reinforcing what organisers describe as an effort to highlight communities facing extreme humanitarian need and prolonged international neglect.
The Zayed Award for Human Fraternity was established in 2019 to honour individuals and organisations whose work embodies human solidarity, coexistence and compassion.
The 2026 recipients will be honoured on Wednesday at a ceremony held at the Founder’s Memorial in Abu Dhabi, coinciding with the UN-recognised International Day of Human Fraternity.
Since its inception, the award has recognised 19 recipients from 19 countries, including Pope Francis and Dr Ahmed Al Tayeb, the Grand Imam of Al Azhar, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Egyptian cardiac surgeon Prof Sir Magdi Yacoub and the US-based food relief organisation World Central Kitchen.
For Ms Yaftali, the award comes with a renewed call for action.
She said Afghan women were no longer asking for statements of concern, but for tangible support, particularly for education initiatives led by women and alternative learning programmes for girls.
She said education remained central to any hope of long-term stability, stressing that no society could build a peaceful future while excluding half its population from learning and opportunity.
