August 2023 marks two years since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. In that two years, girls and women have seen their rights to education stripped away. While girls are still permitted to attend primary school, they've been barred from attending school beyond the sixth grade and participating in higher education. They have been banned from most jobs, and from gyms, public parks, and even beauty salons. Facing a bleak future, Afghan girls and women need our support now more than ever.
For most of us, the thought of growing up without at least a basic education is unfathomable. For children in Afghanistan, particularly those living in remote mountain villages, education is rarely an option. Multiple barriers prevent them from learning including poverty, lack of schools, armed conflict, and decades-old traditions. Under the Taliban's restrictive policies and with an economy now in tatters, the barriers to education Afghan children face, especially girls, have only increased.
Central Asia Institute supports children and communities to overcome these obstacles by offering educational programs to students in the form of CAI-supported community-based classrooms, which provide refuge and hope for Afghan families. By offering these alternative learning programs to formal schools, CAI is able to bring the school to the community, holding classes in homes and providing training for local teachers and councils.
We believe in the transformational power of girls' education to overcome many of society's greatest challenges, whether it be poverty, poor health, environmental degradation, discrimination, or conflict. By focusing primarily on girls and women, our programs seek not only to level the playing field for females but also to unlock the power of education to create healthier, more prosperous, more peaceful societies. Your gift builds schools, funds scholarships, trains teachers, and provides hope.
