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Girls’ Education Matters >

When girls are educated, communities are stronger, safer, healthier, and more affluent. An educated girl can change the world—but right now too many aren’t getting the chance they deserve to reach their full potential. After the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, girls all over the country are banned from secondary education. Many girls in Afghanistan were already far behind in their access to education due to years of Taliban rule, stigma against girls’ education, the lack of available facilities, and early marriage or motherhood keeping girls from school. 

Our Accomplishments >

Learn more about the work Sahar has done in Afghanistan to allow more girls to go to school. Learn about the alternative ways Sahar creates opportunities for learning and empowering spaces for girls and women under the current difficult circumstances. Read about our past success in repairing schools that are no longer viable, and building schools in communities that needed them, pioneering the use of sustainable design for buildings in Afghanistan. Hear from the girls and women in our English and computer classes, literacy and sewing programs, and women’s empowerment and health workshops. And explore the unique methods we’re using to prevent early marriage to keep more Afghan girls in school, longer.

Equal Education Opportunities

Sahar provides equal education opportunities for girls and women in Afghanistan. Since 2001, Sahar has built and repaired schools specifically for Afghan girls to address the substantial under-representation of girls among the students flooding the Afghan education system.

As access to girls’ education in Afghanistan becomes more challenging after the Taliban takeover of the country in August of 2021 and the ban on girls’ secondary education, Sahar remains committed to finding alternative ways to educate girls and women. Sahar partners with grassroots and in-country organizations in Afghanistan to provide safe spaces for women and girls to come together and learn. Sahar equips the in-country partners with funds, program development, evidence-informed curricula, project management, training, and support to help advance their efforts of educating girls and women across the country.

Improving Literacy

Sahar is committed to literacy classes for girls and women who were unable to attend school during the first Taliban rule and were not given the chance to return once schools re-opened. In communities where the literacy rate for women continues to be low, Sahar runs programs that focus on literacy and vocational training.