Actor Angelina Jolie made her debut on Instagram on Friday. Her first post is a letter from a teenage girl in Afghanistan. She has already amassed 4.1 million followers and her post secured 13.1 lakh likes in 12 hours.
Angelina Jolie shared the letter, in which the girl wrote about the situation in Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover. She captioned the post, "This is a letter I was sent from a teenage girl in Afghanistan. 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.
She continued, "--I was on the border of Afghanistan two weeks before 9/11, where I met Afghan refugees who had fled the Taliban. This was twenty 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 blood shed and lives lost only to come to this, is a failure almost impossible to understand."
Angelina concluded, "Watching for decades how Afghan refugees - some of the most capable people in the world - are treated like a burden is also sickening. 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. #Afghanistan #AfghanWomen #AfghanGirls #HumanRights Photo of Afghan women by @lynzybilling."
{{/usCountry}}Angelina concluded, "Watching for decades how Afghan refugees - some of the most capable people in the world - are treated like a burden is also sickening. 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. #Afghanistan #AfghanWomen #AfghanGirls #HumanRights Photo of Afghan women by @lynzybilling."
{{/usCountry}}Reacting to her post, UNHRC wrote, "Welcome to Instagram Special Envoy - your voice and those who join you are needed now more than ever." Iranian actors Fariba Naderi and Ashkan Khatibi also lauded her.
Many fans from across the globe praised Angelina. One fan wrote, "As a woman we are proud of you. You are the voices of suffered women So proud of you! Thank u so much for using your voice."
Taking to Instagram Stories, she shared her opinion piece in Time magazine. She captioned it, "The people of Afghanistan deserve so much better than this - my op-ed for @time."
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Angelina is currently following three Instagram accounts--civil rights organisation National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), medical NGO Doctors Without Borders, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.