By Ginna Brelsford | Executive Director
Dear Friend,
Thank you for your support of Sahar Education! Because of your generosity, girls in Balkh province, Northern Afghanistan, have the opportunity to continue their education! When you support Sahar, you ensure projects like our Early Marriage Prevention Program continue.
Even before the pandemic life for girls in Afghanistan remains difficult. Only 24% of female students are literate compared to 52% of males and girls are more likely to be out of school than boys in the country. Harmful cultural traditions, gender inequality, limited awareness of rights, and weak law enforcement contribute to early marriage practices that contribute to the staggering reality that 57% of Afghan girls are still married before the legal age of 16. As the COVID-19 Pandemic rages in Afghanistan, the liklihood for child marriage increases due to increased poverty and reduced access to reproductive care, among other contributors. The goal of our Early Marriage Prevention Program is to keep girls out of early marriage and in school. This continues to be our goal, despite the obstacles.
To date, over 1,000 girls have graduated from our program, a program taught, lead, and created by Afghan women, for Afghan women. As we step into our fourth year of the Early Marriage Prevention program, support is still needed. Girls at the schools we work in want and demand the skills and lessons the program offers.
Plus, your support goes even further than preventing early marriage and supports more amazing Sahar projects! Thanks to you:
Hear what Farima Shamsi, an 10th grade graduate of the program, has to say about the impact the program had on her:
“Sahar's Early Marrieage Prevention Program (EMPP) has been very helpful for me and girls my age. [From EMPP] I learned self confidence. My favorite session was mental Health sessions, because my self-esteem was particularly low. It was very useful for me because... I was able to recognize signs [of depression] and overcome of them. This program has brought changes not only to my life but also to the lives of people around me... I live in a society that is very traditional and practices patriarchy. Nowhere in the Qura'an does it say that women do not have rights to education. So why then do men stop women’s education? And why women’s education is considered a social stigma? This is all patriarchy.”
We couldn’t do it without you. Thank YOU for making a difference in the lives of Afghans girls today!
By Ginna Brelsford | Executive Director
By Ginna Brelsford | Executive Director
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
Support this important cause by creating a personalized fundraising page.
Start a Fundraiser