ON SEPT 21. 2022 THE BILL AND MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION RECONGNIZED FOUR CHAMPIONS MAKING AN IMPACT TOWARD THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS.

A Changemaker Awarded to Zahra Joya from Afghanistan

A journalist from Afghanistan, Zahra Joya founded and self-funded Rukhshana Media, an online news agency focused exclusively on covering issues that affect women of Afghanistan—the first national news organization of its kind.

Through Rukhshana Media, Zahra is ensuring that women’s stories and issues in Afghanistan are reported on and brought to the attention of a wider public.

The Rukhshana Media team of journalists report on women’s issues as a way to create debates, inform, analyze, and investigate issues related to their lives. Rukhshana Media also works to provide educational and professional opportunities for women journalists.

In August 2021, Zahra had to flee Afghanistan. Now living as a refugee in the UK, she continues to actively manage Rukhshana Media and her team remotely, publishing their reports about women’s life under Taliban rule in Afghanistan. Rukhshana Media has partnered with British newspaper The Guardian to bring their stories to a global audience. This year, marking the one-year anniversary since the Taliban returned to power, they also partnered with TIME magazine to highlight the stories of women who left Afghanistan.