Zainab Alizai
Education is a right, not a privilege.
Zainab Alizai (12), from Afghanistan, is an Afghan girl born in Helmand Province, whose education was cut short after completing sixth grade in 2023, when the Taliban’s restrictions banned secondary schooling for girls. This shattered her dream of one day becoming Afghanistan’s Minister of Education—but it didn’t silence her.
In 2023, Zainab publicly spoke out against the restrictions, sharing her personal story to highlight the struggles of thousands of Afghan girls denied an education. She called on Afghan leaders and the international community to reopen schools for girls, and she released a video message on International Women’s Day 2026, once again urging action to restore girls’ access to learning. Her heartfelt messages about her interrupted education and her dream of shaping Afghanistan’s future have been widely shared online.
With support from her mother, teachers, and community, Zainab’s story has reached wide audiences through NGOs and advocacy groups who amplified her message, especially around International Women’s Day 2026—turning her personal loss into a powerful call for every Afghan girl’s right to learn.
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