Maryam Zahid is an Afghan-Australian human rights champion who founded Afghan Women on the Move, a not-for-profit organisation which supports Afghan and other multicultural women in Australia, helping them build physically, mentally, spiritually, and financially healthy, independent lives.
I’m 45 years old, and I was deprived of 20 years of my childhood and young adulthood in Afghanistan because it is a place where women and children are deprived of their basic human rights. It’s been that way for a very, very long time. Before I was born, the situation got more complicated, and women suffered a lot. I am one of the victims. My Mum is also a victim, along with millions of other women who have been victims of war and displacement and patriarchy.
For me, giving back is how I heal. As a woman in Australia, I have everything, all the opportunities. I get emotional when I talk about how much life changes when you have food on the table, that you don't have to beg on the streets. I didn't have food on the table for almost five years growing up and I was worried when the next meal would come for my family. As a young girl, you don't understand why you are being punished like this, and how war and displacement damage you. Now I have everything as a woman, I feel like it's my duty of care to the world to give back.
Coming to Australia was like going from one extreme to another. There are a lot of obstacles when you come to a new country - the language, the culture and everything is different to what was instilled in you growing up. When I arrived here, I knew I wanted to give back. That was the mission. I have worked in the community sector for 23 years. I have experience collaborating with partners in women's health, refugee health, Centrelink, and the housing department. But I felt that there were systematic barriers that didn’t accommodate the diversity of women like me. The mainstream only sees you as a refugee, as women of colour with a different accent and culture. It’s assumed that you only need food on the table in a rented place for the job of your host country to be done. But I wanted to give back more than just being a refugee, especially because I was now safe.
I wanted to create a support system to help other women be seen and be brave and become more visible. Because, when they come from somewhere like Afghanistan, they’re scared of being killed or humiliated just because they're women. If you leave the house without your husband or a male guardian, you are not safe.
When I arrived from Afghanistan and took that first step outside Melbourne airport, I had this moment of realisation that I could just go to the taxi or buses without male protection because I saw other women walking by themselves with their luggage. Those little visuals, when you first step into a new country, give you a lot of information. Those visuals inspired me, and I had the internal drive to see the external opportunities that were available and grab them, but not every woman will. I want to promote that to women who are scared to leave their bubbles and get out of male dominated communities. They worry that they will become ‘bad’ women, which is exactly what I've been told by those that don't see me as a good woman for the culture. At the same time, I'm not enough for the mainstream because of what they might assume of me as a refugee. These things are what pushed me to be brave and say, “You know what? I'll talk, I'll be visible. I'll challenge perceptions and motivate other women.”
And that’s what our organisation does. We’re a support agency and an advocacy platform. We produce programs that support women from the time they get out of bed until they put their head on the pillow again. It’s their day-to-day stuff that matters to me, not their five-year plan. I need to be very practical and make sure they get their driving license and know how to swim because Afghanistan is a landlocked country. We have projects that enable women to learn about financial and digital literacy and we help them with employment opportunities.
To date we have helped around 5,000 women through our different initiatives and these women are part of larger families. When women are educated and empowered and given confidence through the right knowledge and the right support, they start to lead in their families as well.
Firstly, it’s been through the commitment of our volunteers. I volunteered for three years when this was starting and I used social media with my cooking shows and a private group on Facebook that is called Afghan Women on the Move. This helped me connect with women before I had operational funding. So, the credit goes to the volunteer work that I put in and the women who came on board slowly, who cooked and cleaned and helped generate that energy and trust in the community.
We've also been lucky to receive funding from our local government, which grew into state funding and then to federal. This year, we received funding from the Commbank Next Chapter Innovation program and I was awarded a 2024 Westpac Social Change Fellowship meaning that they have invested in my leadership. So things are slowly happening, but they’re happening.
When you're collectively doing things, it creates a momentum that will never go away. Everybody will take something and give something back, even if they eventually go and do it on their own.
At age five, I was co-parenting my two younger sisters, and by the age of 10, I had six younger siblings. As an older female child, the expectation is that you become another mother. And the expectation that grows in you, is to serve. So, you give, and give, and give, and give and I'm still giving back.
Giving with good intention will come back to you in different shapes and forms. I have learned that it keeps me healthy. Although I've become so broken inside and can fall into pieces when I talk about my past, I've learned that giving to a good cause and giving through purposeful work, brings peace and healing.
At the same time, I've learned that I can stand equally next to men, whether they are in a mosque or in their association and I still have a voice to change narratives and change minds for the better. By being active, I have shifted the mainstream perspective around women like me; we can contribute, pay taxes and be part of tackling issues.
My ambition for the future is to sustain Afghan Woman on the Move as a legacy. If I can build this organisation and partner with like-minded supporters and other organisations to make the world more inclusive, my job is done. I'm hoping that one day, when I'm not here, they will say, “She tried her best.”
Maryam Zahid is an award-winning Afghan-Australian human rights champion, diversity & inclusion practitioner, self-taught artist, and social commentator. She is the founder of Afghan Women on the Move (AWOTM), a not-for-profit organisation creating a safe platform for women survivors of war and trauma. She also leads Women Empowerment Pty Ltd, a consultancy agency focused on cultural diversity and women's issues.
Her work focuses on gender equality, women's rights, and supporting the Afghan diaspora, particularly those from minority backgrounds. She is committed to empowering women and recognising their vital contributions to families and communities.
A former refugee, Maryam arrived in Australia in 1999. She has over 21 years of experience in the community sector, including roles in domestic violence prevention, case management, and refugee resettlement. She is also involved with various advisory boards and community initiatives.
Maryam is an emerging theatre writer having written and performed The Good Woman in 2019. She has also produced art exhibitions such as My Life, My Story and The Power of Colour.
