The first thing Hollywood star Angelina Jolie did after joining the social media platform was to use the platform to amplify voices of those who are fighting for their basic human rights, including those in Afghanistan witnessing a takeover of their country by the Taliban.
In her first post, the 46-year-old actor, filmmaker and social activist shared a hand-written letter, which Jolie claimed she received from an anonymous girl in Afghanistan, scared of living in the country in the current situation. In the letter, she also wrote about her difficulties of going to school after the Taliban's takeover.
"We all had rights, we (were) able to defend our rights freely, but when they came, we are all afraid of them, and we think all our dreams are gone," the girl wrote in the letter.
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Jolie posted the entire letter of the young girl along with a photo of seven Afghan women standing with their backs to the camera.
"Right now, the people of Afghanistan are losing their ability to communicate on social media and to express themselves freely. So I’ve come on Instagram to share their stories and the voices of those across the globe who are fighting for their basic human rights," Jolie wrote.
The Taliban swept into Kabul on Sunday, last week, after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, bringing a stunning end to a two-decade campaign in which the US and its allies had tried to transform Afghanistan.
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It has sparked chaos at Kabul's airport, from where US and other allied nations are trying to safely evacuate thousands of their citizens and allies.
Jolie recalled the time when she was on the border of Afghanistan two weeks before the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in New York and said that she met Afghan refugees who had fled the Taliban nearly 20 years ago.
"It is sickening to watch Afghans being displaced yet again out of the fear and uncertainty that has gripped their country. To spend so much time and money, to have bloodshed and lives lost only to come to this, is a failure almost impossible to understand," she wrote.
What is also sickening is how the Afghanistan refugees are being "treated like a burden", Jolie said in her apparent criticism of world leaders.
"Knowing that if they had the tools and respect, how much they would do for themselves. And meeting so many women and girls who not only wanted an education, but fought for it. Like others who are committed, I will not turn away. I will continue to look for ways to help. And I hope you'll join me," the actor concluded her post.
Since her debut, Jolie's first post has received over 1.3 million likes on Instagram. She has also amassed 4.4 million followers on the social media platform.
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(With Inputs From PTI)
