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her late sister Banaz’s coercion into child marriage. While Mah- mod was able to escape her marriage after two years, her sister Banaz was murdered in an honor killing—a wrongful, yet famil- iar fate for child brides who take a stand . “That is the reason I left my child marriage,” she says. “When I saw my sister go through that, I knew I had to get out. There was no other way. I knew my fate could potentially end up like hers. In a weird way, she saved me from going through even more abuse in my own marriage.” In 2020, Mahmod spoke publicly as a survivor and cam- paigner during her first TEDx Talk, advocating for humani- ty’s call-to-action rather than the absence of interference from passersby. For Mahmod, red flags were saturated around her—a stranger could have changed her fate.When asked how she wishes someone might have helped her, Mahmod shares, “It’s as simple as asking somebody if they’re okay. When you look at scenarios like that, you can tell something isn’t right. I do feel as a society, as much as we’re standing up in solidarity for one another, we still have a long way to go in feeling re- sponsible for one another, and making sure that when we see something wrong, we question it. We don’t look away. Ques-
tion things because you never know—you might save some- one’s life.” As an activist, Mahmod refuses to wait for the storm to clear. “Growing up,” she shares, “I never thought about using my voice in any way. I always had this reaffirming message, as a girl, that I should be as quiet as possible. Going from that to speaking to audiences is something I never take for granted. I’m now able to use my voice and speak out, but I also know there are many women and girls who cannot do it safely. Just as we’re having this conversation, I’m thinking of the women in Iran who are out on the streets, marching every day, and risking their lives for speaking. It’s something I’m trying to be comfortable with, because all these years of being silenced, it’s hard to stand in that power and own that.” With an upcoming second TEDx Talk and participation in UN’s 16 Days of Activism—activism against gender-based violence, Mahmod continues to instill hope. After experiencing the eye of the storm Payzee Mahmod reminds us that we do not need to wait out the storm and let it take its toll. Instead, we must shelter one another and caution the storm that our roars are louder in unity.
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