In Afghanistan, Resistance Means Women
Since the Taliban took power in August 2021, Afghan women have been at the front line of resistance to Taliban oppression. They have held peaceful protests demanding equality, rights, justice, and peace. read more
Female Education in Afghanistan After the Return of the Taliban
“It appeared in early 2022 that women’s education was a go. Yet despite international pressure and the promised resources from the international community, on March 23, 2002, the Taliban leadership announced that girls’ schools would not open. This decision was announced at the last minute on the very day girl schools were to reopen. Many girls around the country had already gone to school that day excited that schools were reopening only to find that their school was closed.” Excerpt from Female Education in Afghanistan After the Return of the Taliban
Secret schools enable Afghanistan’s teen girls to skirt Taliban’s education ban
KABUL, Afghanistan – Inside a small room in a house on Kabul’s outskirts, about ten teenage girls are defying their Taliban rulers who have banned them from attending secondary school. “Let’s learn,” one student slowly reads to another as they review English lessons from a textbook. Read more
Four Ways to Support Girls’ Access to Education in Afghanistan
Donors are seeking ways to induce the Taliban to respect human rights, often with particular emphasis on girls’ education. This document suggests right-based approaches that donors should take to promote access to education for girls and women in Afghanistan.
These approaches are:
- Fund education without funding discrimination;
- Support communities as they fight for girls’ right to education;
- Stand by Afghans under threat for defending the right to education; and
- Monitor all aspects of access to education.
Support girls’ education through Sahar and make an investment in greater global stability. Sahar approaches girls’ education from multiple levels – taking a holistic approach to create real change.
The Sahar model works. Proof is showcased in our recent Gawhar Khatoon Girls’ School project in Mazar-i-Sharif. This project brought jobs to a poverty-stricken community, elevated skills of craftsmanship for the local builders, introduced sustainable building to the area and increased access to education for all the girls in the community. This community engagement model ensures all involved stand to benefit from our schools and programs ensuring greater buy-in and ongoing support. Additionally,
- Our Teacher Training Programs open real job opportunities for women in rural areas of Afghanistan, and open the doors of education for girls in places that otherwise might not be educated at all.
- Our Early Marriage Prevention Program educates whole communities about the long-term economic opportunity that comes with educated girls, encourages girls to know their rights about the legal age to marry, and works within cultural frameworks to ensure families are off to a good start in Afghanistan.
- Our Computer Literacy Program opens the world of technology and the Internet to girls in Afghanistan. These girls go on to use these skills as they pursue employment and higher education, lifting up their families and communities with greater earning opportunities and more open, creative ways of thinking.
Your donations can make a real difference. We know that when a girl is educated, she can literally change the world.