Tamana Zaryab Paryani
Human Rights Activist
Born: 1997, Kabul, Afghanistan
Career Highlights:
2013: Began her activism focusing on women’s rights and opportunities.
2014: Started weightlifting, breaking barriers in a male-dominated sport.
2017: Won her first nationwide gold medal in weightlifting.
2018: Won her second nationwide gold medal in weightlifting.
2018: Ran for a seat in Afghanistan’s Lower House of Parliament.
2018: Founded the „Tamana Social Cultural Organisation“ to promote women’s rights and gender equality.
2021: Established the „Women Equality and Freedom Organization (WEFO)“ to resist the Taliban’s oppressive policies.
2022: Went into exile in Germany.
2022: Launched the „Stop Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan“ campaign in Germany, involving a 12-day hunger strike, a one-month sit-in protest, and a protest convoy.
Message from Tamana:
I have always believed in the power of dreams and the strength within each of us to achieve them. My journey, filled with challenges and triumphs, has taught me the importance of resilience and the impact of collective effort.
Weightlifting, a sport I embraced in 2013, has been a profound metaphor for my life. It symbolizes the weight of societal expectations and the barriers imposed on women. Through weightlifting, I learned to channel my inner strength, to lift not just physical weights, but also the burdens of injustice and inequality. Each medal I won was not just a personal achievement, but a testament to the potential of every woman who dares to dream beyond societal confines.
As I reflect on my journey, my wish for the future is to see a world where every woman can pursue her dreams without fear of oppression. I dream of an Afghanistan where women’s rights are not just discussed, but deeply respected and upheld.
The campaign I started in Germany, „Stop Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan,“ is my way of ensuring that the voices of Afghan women are heard globally. It is a call to action for the international community to stand in solidarity with us, to recognize the gender apartheid that persists, and to take meaningful steps to address it.
I envision a future where gender equality is not a distant goal but a lived reality. Together, we can build a world where every girl and woman can thrive, empowered by her rights and supported by her community.
Thank you for being a part of this journey. Your support and solidarity mean the world to us. Let us continue to lift each other up, just as I have lifted those weights, and strive towards a future of justice, equality, and peace.
With hope and determination,
Tamana Zaryab Paryani