Currently, 19.4 million women and girls (49.5% of Afghanistan’s population) in Afghanistan are banned from pursuing education, working outside, traveling, and attending public places. The fall of the government in Afghanistan in August 2021 shifted the trajectory for millions of girls in Afghanistan.
When the Taliban took over the government in Afghanistan in 1996, they immediately targeted women’s rights by banning universities for women, forcing them to quit their jobs, restricting access to healthcare for women, setting a brutal dress code, and limiting their ability to move freely in the city. These rules not only resulted in a generation of illiterate women in Afghanistan, but also an increase in forced marriages, child marriages, and domestic violence. In fact, many families sent their daughters to countries like Pakistan and Iran to protect them.
After the Taliban were replaced with a US-backed government in 2001, Afghan women made incredible advancements in different areas including a 27% share in parliament and being part of the Afghan military and police. Despite the advancements, Afghan women still lagged behind Afghan men as more work was needed to attain gender equality. With the Taliban returning to power in 2021, Afghan women went two decades back in the span of one day.
Making progress is difficult for a country when it is deprived of the contribution of half of its society. When girls are educated, they are less likely to be exploited, abused, face discrimination, go through child marriages, and die in childbirth. Education empowers girls to make their own decisions, raise better-nourished children, contribute to the economy, invest in their community, be active politically, and change the world.
As a nonprofit organization, Sahar Education believes in the power of education for girls and works to empower Afghan women through programs such as Stealth Sisters- English, IT, Women’s Empowerment, Underground TechSheroes- IT & Coding, and Threads of Hope- sewing. These not only help girls and women learn essential skills but prepare them for life-changing opportunities, becoming financially independent individuals and sources of change in their communities.
Please join Sahar in supporting education for all Afghan women and girls as a means of improving the trajectory of the country and the future of each girl. You can get involved by volunteering, donating, or sharing our mission with your friends.