17-year-old helps launch mentorship program, storytelling platform
After the fall of Kabul, Afghanistan, Mahdi Rahimi and Nahid Karimi were forced to flee their homes in late 2021. Now living and attending high school in the United States – with one of them landing in Rappahannock County – the teens are using their experiences as an opportunity for hope and change.
Together, they founded EmpowerHer in December 2024, a nonprofit organization aimed at nurturing resilience and leadership for young Afghan girls through virtual writing and creative workshops. Before founding EmpowerHer, Karimi and Rahimi both began participating in and organizing virtual programs to support Afghan youth.
Although those programs were impactful, they were limited in size and resources; the teens knew they could do more. And so, EmpowerHer emerged as an organized, sustainable movement that worked on a larger scale.
Rahimi's efforts are rooted in his belief that,
When young people are supported, they can become powerful agents of change.
Rahimi is a 17-year-old Afghan advocate originally from the capital city of Kabul, and he is a senior at Wakefield Country Day School in Huntly. Rahimi has spent his past four years in the county as a scholar and active member of several other nonprofits such as the Afghan Girls Financial Assistance Fund, where he leads projects focused on personal growth and education, before founding his own.
Karimi, who lives in Pennsylvania, is also 17 and originally from Kabul. She is studying on a full academic scholarship after living as a refugee in Pakistan. In addition to co-founding EmpowerHer, she is a writer, singer and the founder of Educational Support for Afghans to continue supporting girls whose opportunities have been taken away. Her mission is amplifying the voices of Afghan women through storytelling, advocacy, or any action that brings change.
She says,
For too long, Afghan girls have been written into history as victims. This time, let's write our own.
First, they founded the EmpowerHer Mentorship Program, where their dedicated team of mentors and lecturers, most of whom are fellow high school students, voluntarily lead skill-based workshops. Their team consists of 10 members from all over the world who use their personal knowledge and experiences to lead students through month-long programs on writing, arts, cultural exchange and more.
Recently, a new branch was launched called HerVoice. This creative storytelling platform works with partners worldwide to publish their students' original writings.
The mission statement of EmpowerHer states:
We envision Afghan women as guiding lights in their communities – leading with courage, inspiring hope and progress, and shaping a more equitable, inclusive, and sustainable society... by nurturing resilience, creativity, and leadership, we strive to empower them to shine as sources of inspiration and strength, uplifting their communities even in the face of adversity.
For more information, visit EmpowerHer on Instagram or LinkedIn.