Exiled Afghan journalist on the power of good journalism

Zahra Nader

In honor of World Press Freedom Day on May 3, members of the National Press Club’s Press Freedom Team have interviewed journalists in exile from around the world. We will feature their stories every day this week to shed light on press freedom issues worldwide.

As a young female in Afghanistan, forced with her family early on to relocate to Iran when the Taliban took power, Zahra Nader knows firsthand the personal and societal impact of policies that essentially deny women the right to learn. 

“For my entire childhood, I longed for the education that I couldn’t get,” she says.

Once the Taliban rule collapsed, she and her family returned to Afghanistan where she entered school, ultimately earning a bachelor’s degree in law. She established herself as a journalist with a sharp focus on gender and equality issues, and for a time worked in Kabul for The New York Times.

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