Asylum Speaker Story Night: Listening to Afghan voices

Note: doors open 5:30pm, event start 6pm

About the Event

Asylum Speaker Story Nights returns in partnership with Griffith University for a powerful evening of storytelling, connection, and reflection. The event invites audiences to listen deeply to the lived experiences of people who have journeyed through displacement, resilience, and rebuilding.

Through storytelling, conversation, and cultural exchange, the series continues to humanise migration and create space for empathy, understanding, and a stronger sense of shared community.

This installment features Jahanzeb Wesa, an Afghan journalist, human rights advocate, and community worker, offering a deeply personal perspective on displacement, the pursuit of safety, and the ongoing struggle for the rights of Afghan women and girls.

Purpose

Too often, conversations about displacement and conflict overlook the voices of those who live it.

This event centres those voices.

Featuring Jahanzeb Wesa, whose journey has taken him from Afghanistan to rebuilding his life in Australia, this story night explores both his personal experiences and his work supporting people affected by conflict and displacement. It will also highlight his continuing advocacy for Afghan women and girls, particularly their right to education, safety, and opportunities to shape their own futures.

By creating space for lived experience to be shared directly, we aim to challenge misconceptions, encourage compassion, and create meaningful dialogue and connection.

What to expect

The evening will begin with an intimate storytelling session, where Jahanzeb Wesa shares his experiences of life and human rights advocacy in Afghanistan, the circumstances that shaped his displacement, and his journey to Australia.

In a guided fireside-style conversation, themes of identity, belonging, resilience, and hope will be explored, alongside the realities of advocating for human rights and supporting communities facing uncertainty and exclusion.

Audience members will then be invited to engage directly through questions and reflections, creating a space for thoughtful conversation and shared understanding.

The evening will conclude with time for connection, offering an opportunity to continue the conversation, meet fellow attendees, and reflect on what we have heard together.

About Jahan

Jahanzeb is an Afghan human rights advocate, freelance journalist, and community worker whose own experience of forced displacement shapes his commitment to supporting others seeking safety and rebuilding their lives.

Jahanzeb began advocating for girls’ education and women’s rights as a university student in Afghanistan in 2016. His work exposed him to repeated threats, forcing him to move between locations for his safety. Following the Taliban takeover in 2021, he was injured during an attack on a peaceful protest in Kabul. After a period in hiding, he fled to Pakistan, where he spent years living with uncertainty while waiting for a pathway to safety, before eventually rebuilding his life in Australia.

Throughout his displacement, Jahanzeb continued his advocacy, helping Afghan women and girls access education, share their experiences through international media, and connect with support networks. His work includes online English, computer, and skills-development classes for those excluded from school and university.

Today, he continues this work alongside volunteering and community involvement in Australia, bringing a personal understanding of the challenges of starting again and the importance of education, dignity, and belonging.