MARYAM DURANI

 MARYAM DURANI

Maryam Durani (born 1987) is an Afghan activist and women's advocate.

Maryam Durani is the daughter of Haji Mohammad Eisa Durani, and she is a member of the Durrani tribe. She graduated from the Payam Noor and American University of Afghanistan. She has a degree in Law and Political Science and business. Despite the area's extremely conservative view toward women, Durani serves as a leader, role model, and advocate for women in Kandahar. She is is one of the most prominent women’s rights advocates in Afghanistan.

Durani was a member of the Kandahar Provincial Council. First elected as a Kandahar Provincial Council Member in 2005 at the age of 21 and for a second term in 2009, Durani served as one of only four women on the Council and has brought women's concerns and a woman's perspective to the activities and discussions of the Council. She was also the director of the non-profit Khadija Kubra Women's Association for Culture. With such roles of prominence, it is little wonder that Durani has often found herself being targetted by those who did not appreciate her views, her activism and specifically the fact that she was a woman.

She were manages Merman Radio, a radio station in Kandahar City, only female-owned and female-oriented radio station and focused on women's issues. She is an outspoken advocate for the peace and rights of women and girls in Afghan society, as well as for basic civil rights for all Afghan citizens, and she is determined to change the culture and perception of women's roles in Afghanistan.

Durani understands and accepts the risks of being a visible woman in such powerful and meaningful roles, and receives strong support from her immediate and extended family who also face these dangers. She has survived at least two suicide bombings, an assassination attempt and innumerable death threats.

Though she gained international recognition in 2012 when she was presented with the International Women of Courage Award by the US State Department, her most iconic act was opening a fitness club for women in the city of Kandahar. When she opened it in 2020, her fitness club was the first one in Kandahar, a city that is well known for being the former headquarters of the Taliban. Although the gym had to be tucked away in a windowless basement in a locked compound, it nevertheless managed to run successfully despite considerable public condemnation being aimed towards Durani. In a city where many still rigidly hold against women’s rights over their own bodies, Durani created a place where women could attend to their mental health even as they worked towards their physical health. Durani faced considerable slander by the public who labelled her gym as a “house of prostitution” and several members reported being the subject of inappropriate propositions outside the property.

All of it came to an end with the fall of Kandahar. Durani finally headed the incessant warnings she had gotten to shut down her work and leave. As per last confirmed reports, she is known to have escaped to Kabul.

https://www.news9live.com/world/four-women-afghan-pioneers-69679.html