Women from around the world have expressed a profound powerless in witnessing the harsh reality faced by Afghan women under a regime that violates their fundamental rights and cancels their freedom of expression. In response to this situation, The Unbaneable Protest offers the opportunity to transform that sense of powerless into meaningful action for Afghan women by advocating for their rights and speaking out in their defense.

Since their reinstatement, the Taliban regime has restricted afghan women's most basic rights, promoting a misogynistic narrative through social media.

Women who have raised their voices in Afghanistan have been identified through digital surveillance, leading to their punishment and imprisonment.

Meanwhile, women around the world feel powerless, unable to do anything in the face of this situation.

Situation:

The Taliban regime controls Afghanistan’s narrative via social media, promoting a misogynistic and oppressive discourse.

A group of Afghan women challenged the regime standing up for their rights, leading the conversation on social media.

Through digital surveillance, the regime identified them, punishing and imprisoning them, silencing the conversation on digital platforms.

Brief:

Create a digital action to ensure that the voices of Afghan women fighting for their rights are heard once again.

Objective:

Regain leadership in the social media conversation for the rights of Afghan women.

In Afghanistan, women's rights are suppressed by the regime. Faced with this situation, Femcode, a company dedicated to empowering women through technology, has taken a bold stand. Confronting the oppressive regime head-on, we have identified a specific issue: the rise of women's voices in a digital protest. Recognizing that the regime seeks to silence women by drowning out their voices, we have made it our mission to amplify these voices once more.

Our aim was to build technology that circumvents media censorship and brings women's voices from all corners of the world directly to Afghanistan. By creating a VPN, we have effectively bypassed any attempts by the regime to regulate and suppress our message. In a country where even peaceful protest can pose life-threatening risks, our innovative approach has allowed us to stage a protest that puts no one in harm's way.

The plight of women in Afghanistan is a stark reminder of the ongoing struggle for basic human rights. With limited freedom of speech, restricted mobility, and the prohibition of higher education, Afghan women are denied the most fundamental liberties. To ask where their rights are is to confront a pressing humanitarian crisis.

Since the Taliban regime banned Afghan women from any form of expression to fight for their rights, we created a protest that the regime cannot ban.

Letting people from all over the world that felt powerless in the face of this situation, join this fight and protest in Afghanistan, without actually being in Afghanistan.

In Afghanistan, women were directly impacted by the Taliban regime, punished, and silenced.

Women worldwide felt powerless, unable to intervene in this situation.

Our platform, THE UNBANNABLE PROTEST, we reached women all over the globe, giving them the chance to virtually protest in Afghanistan through a VPN connected to local servers, bringing back the voices of Afghan women.

Women's rights organizations and opinion leaders joined forces, increasing the conversation and even raising funds for THE UNBANNABLE PROTEST.

The situation of women in Afghanistan evokes a sense of powerlessness in women worldwide. That's why we enabled women from different countries to join this fight by protesting in Afghanistan without physically being there.

Using VPN technology, we were able to regain and amplify the conversation in Afghanistan, continuing to advocate for the rights of Afghan women, giving them back a voice that cannot be silenced by the regime this time.

Implementation:

We created a platform which connects to a VPN through local servers in Afghanistan.

Through a website and an APP the whole world can protest in Afghanistan, without actually being in Afghanistan.

Timeline:

THE UNBANNABLE PROTEST launched the 1st quarter of 2024.

Placement:

Website, APP and collaboration with social media users.

Scale:

The movement aimed to reach a worldwide participation from social media users, influencers and women’s rights organizations.

300% conversation growth.

Women from around the world made #WhereAreTheirRights the most popular topic in Afghanistan, surpassing the ones promoted by the regime.

Women right’s organizations raised more than USD$243,000 for THE UNBANNABLE PROTEST to reach other countries.

After more than 2 years, this movement, along with other efforts, has brought back the voices of Afghan women to the UN.

To date, we have secured over $200,000 in funding to sustain our project. Our aim is to further increase this support, channeling donations to organizations dedicated to advancing the rights of Afghan women. Looking ahead, we envision expanding our initiative on a global scale, reaching new regions to raise awareness of this critical cause. Building upon our initial launch, we anticipate forging alliances with organizations worldwide, leveraging our technology to empower women across the globe.

While Afghanistan and the challenges posed by the Taliban regime represent one of our primary focuses, our mission extends far beyond. We are committed to addressing various social issues that contradict our values, harnessing the power of technology to effect positive change for women everywhere. By remaining focused in our dedication to this cause, we aim to create a better world for women everywhere.