Each year, on June 5, the world observes World Environment Day—a moment to honor the Earth and reflect on our shared responsibility toward nature. In 2025, the day is marked with the theme “Beat Plastic Pollution”, a powerful call to confront the global crisis of plastic waste and take urgent action to curb its devastating impact. Plastics, particularly single-use plastics, have become a silent but deadly enemy of the planet. From oceans to deserts, they are now among the most persistent pollutants on Earth, leaving traces even within the human body. Microplastics, having infiltrated water, soil, and air, have been detected in human blood, breast milk, and even in the placenta of newborns. What deepens this crisis further is the lack of effective waste management in low-income and conflict-affected nations like Afghanistan. The country not only suffers from inadequate infrastructure, but Afghan women, who have long been the backbone of households, are now, in many regions, deprived of the right to education, employment, and participation in environmental initiatives. During the years of the republic, promising efforts were made to raise environmental awareness. As the former head of Kabul’s Environmental Protection Agency, I witnessed hundreds of Afghan women participate in training workshops on waste separation, plastic reduction, and recycling techniques. In these programs, I introduced the internationally recognized “4Rs” model: Reduce (consumption), Reuse, Recycle, and Recover (energy). These concepts were taught to empower women to not only keep their environments clean but also engage in small-scale income-generating activities to support their families. See more... https://8am.media/eng/mothers-of-the-environment-afghan-women-in-the-fight-against-plastic-pollution/