In 2018, Freshta Karim told a story. In her home city of Kabul, Afghanistan, her nieces and nephews gathered round as she read. She had asked them to bring their friends, expecting one or two to tag along; instead, 30 children converged. She realised just how hungry for knowledge the city’s children were. It led Karim to found Charmaghz Libraries the following year, which operates mobile libraries in the streets of Kabul.
Five years later, despite brutal crackdowns in education and equality, its
