Emergency Aid: Help Afghan women and children

In Afghanistan, the Taliban’s war on girls’ education continues to escalate. On Wednesday, high-school girls across the country were heartbroken to learn that they were banned from school. This decision was a shocking reversal of the Taliban’s earlier declaration permitting girls in grades 7-12 to return to classrooms at the start of the new school year. 

Already out of school for 8 months, teenage girls feel their dreams of higher education and rewarding careers slipping away from them. 

"Not being able to study feels like a death penalty," 15-year-old Meena told the BBC.

Despite the risks, Afghan women are standing up to the Taliban. Protests broke out yesterday as women took to the streets to demand their right to an education. 

“Is it a crime to be a girl? Is it a crime we want to study?” said one young woman. 

What does this mean going forward?
 

While we can’t take away the unimaginable pain and hardship these young women and girls are experiencing, we can do everything in our power to keep their dreams of a brighter future alive.

In the coming months, we will continue to invest in creative solutions – like informal community-based classes and accelerated learning programs for girls who have fallen behind in their studies – to keep education moving forward until the restrictions on formal schooling are lifted. 

But this work is only possible with your continued support. Now is not the time to turn away.

Will you consider making a donation today? A gift in any amount can make an immediate difference in the life of an Afghan girl.

Thank you for standing with Afghan girls and women in their time of need. Thank you for keeping their hope alive.