FLY WITH ME

TAKE ACTION

Inspired by Fly With Me, we believe in the power of collective action. Here are six ways you can support Afghan communities, both in Afghanistan and around the world.

Updated in August 2026, five years since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, to reflect the ongoing crisis.

Afghan culture is STILL under attack.

Five years on from the Taliban's return to power, the humanitarian emergency in Afghanistan continues to unfold beyond the headlines.

  • An estimated 21.9 million people in Afghanistan, 45% of the country's population, require humanitarian assistance (via OCHA)

  • Food insecurity remains critical and swings sharply with the seasons: around 13.8 million people were facing Crisis-level hunger or worse in late 2025, projected to rise to 17.4 million over the winter, including 4.7 million in Emergency-level food insecurity (via IPC)

  • Since October 2023, 5.4 million Afghans have been forced or pressured to return to Afghanistan from Iran and Pakistan, one of the largest forced migrations in recent history. In 2025 alone, UNHCR recorded at least 2.8 million returns, two thirds of them forced. Returns have continued into 2026, straining a country that's already short on housing, healthcare and jobs for the people already there (via UNHCR)

And the rights of women and girls have been stripped away at a harrowing pace.

  • Women and girls have been banned from secondary schools and universities.

  • Women are barred from working in most sectors, including NGOs and the UN.

  • Female journalists, artists, and civil society leaders have faced intimidation, arrest, and forced disappearance.

  • Women are prohibited from travelling long distances without a male guardian, and women can be imprisoned for visiting family without their husband's permission.

  • Public parks, gyms, and even beauty salons have been closed to women.

  • Female journalists, artists, and civil society leaders have faced intimidation, arrest, and forced disappearance.

  • Domestic violence is only recognised as an offence when it leaves broken bones or visible injury.

  • There is no minimum age for marriage, and it’s now even harder for women to leave their husbands.

Find out more via this thorough and heartfelt article written by an Afghan refugee via Afghan Pro Bono.

These systematic restrictions have made Afghanistan the only country in the world where girls are denied education beyond primary level, and where women are effectively erased from public life.

But Afghan communities - inside the country and in the diaspora - are still resisting. And they still need our solidarity.

  • Fly a Kite

    In Afghanistan, kites occupy a unique space between national art form and national sport. For 800 years, they have been seen as a universal symbol of expression, skill and cultural pride. But with the Taliban in power, kites are banned - along with music, free journalism, theatre and dancing.

    Today kites continue to represent hope, resistance, and the enduring spirit of the Afghan people. And by making and flying kites in the Afghan tradition, we stand in solidarity with Afghans in the latest affront to their freedom. Learn how here with master kite-maker Sanjar Qiam and fly it on a hill, a park or the town centre near you.

  • Donate

    Donate to organisations working directly with communities in Afghanistan:

    Equity for Afghan Women are a nonprofit committed to advancing the rights, education, and empowerment of Afghan women and girls. They are currently fundraising for a safe, fully equipped computer lab that will allow girls to access online education and continue learning despite the education ban.

    Razia’s Ray of Hope Foundation keeps Kindergarten-6th grade girls learning, growing and full of hope. You can donate to all of their work, or even through regular donations sponsor a young girl’s education.

    Afghanaid is Afghan-led charity who build basic services, improve livelihoods, strengthen the rights of women and children, help communities protect against natural disasters and climate change, and respond to humanitarian emergencies.

    The International Rescue Committee (IRC) provides vital support to Afghans who have endured four decades of violent conflict, as well as natural disasters and an economic collapse.

    Rahela Trust support secondary school education and provide university scholarships and leadership mentoring programs for talented, underprivileged women and girls in rural Afghanistan.

  • Keep Speaking Up

    Your voice keeps Afghanistan in the public conscience:

    Sign this petition by Amnesty International calling on the Home Secretary to reverse the UK's student visa "brake," which is currently blocking women from Afghanistan, Sudan, Myanmar and Cameroon from taking up university places they've already earned.

    Follow and re-share posts by Amnesty Feminist about the ongoing plight of Afghan women and girls.

    Read and re-share stories published by Refugee Legal Support (who host the Afghan Pro Bono Initiative) to ensure Afghanistan isn’t forgotten.

  • Amplify Campaigns Led by Afghan Women

    Afghan women have been at the forefront of resistance and care. Help ensure the stories and rights of Afghan women are not erased:

    Stay in the loop with, share campaigns created and attend events organised by Afghan women and allies in the UK like those by the Afghan Women’s Support Forum

    Become #HerAlly, a global network of women and allies brought together by Friends of Afghan Women Network (FAWN) committed to fostering hope, resilience, and opportunity for Afghan women facing extraordinary challenges, including: providing emotional support and encouragement to an Afghan woman navigating life under restrictive conditions; sharing your knowledge, skills, or mentorship to empower her journey towards independence and self-reliance.

    Read My Dear Kabul, a collective diary by Afghan women writers charting the fall of Kabul in 2021 created with Untold Narratives.

  • Write to your MP

    Pressure from constituents makes a difference. Speak up for Afghan lives:

    Contact your MP asking them to use every opportunity available - through parliamentary questions, speaking in debates, writing to the Prime Minister directly, to ask:

    Afghanistan?

    Is the UK Government planning to formally join Canada, Australia, Germany and the Netherlands in bringing a case against Afghanistan to the International Court of Justice?

    How will the UK Government formally support the campaign to codify Gender Apartheid under international law?

    Will the Government reverse the visa "brake" currently blocking Afghan women from taking up UK university places they've already earned?

    Now that the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme and ARAP have closed, what safe and legal routes remain for Afghans still at risk, and will the Government commit to a moratorium on returning failed Afghan asylum seekers given the situation on the ground?

    Find your local MP here

  • Support Afghan Communities Locally

    Engage with UK-based refugee organisations offering education, wellbeing, and advocacy to support refugees resettling in your community:

    Reset offer opportunities to get involved with Community Sponsorship, including: practising conversational English, showing people around the local area, registering children in schools, helping people access public services including registering with a doctor, setting up a bank account, finding suitable housing, arranging transport and running errands.

    Safe Passage International work alongside pro-bono law firms to help Afghan families reunite and live their lives free from danger in both the UK and France, in addition to providing information to all those in danger. They also help Afghans understand the complex requirements for safe routes to the UK and signpost them to support available for their friends and family, whether it be in the UK, in Afghanistan, or in the surrounding region.

    Afghan Association Paiwand (North West London) provide a variety of services for adults and children in the community, including a Saturday school where classes range from Pashto and Dari to maths and English. They also provide support for teenagers who are living alone in the UK and adults who have a range of issues, including: housing and benefits, mental health, employment, immigration, learning English.