Support Girls' Education in Afghanistan

Dear Friends,

Girls beyond sixth grade remain banned from schools in Afghanistan. The Taliban government has further prohibited women from universities and employment. Most recently, they ordered closure of beauty salons.

Despite the challenges inherent in patriarchal Afghan society during the republic, the Afghan women in general, and Hazara women in particular, had made tremendous strides towards education and employment. However, with the the ban on education and employment– the Taliban are embarking on a policy of gender apartheid to deprive and eliminate women from all walks of the Afghan society. Hazara girls and women are bearing the brunt of Taliban’s harsh policies due to the intersectional factors of gender, race and religion.  

Even in these difficult times and against all odds, our educators and community leaders on the ground think outside the box to find optimal solutions based on the challenges in their respective localities. As for girls' education, the Foundation is committed to continue supporting our girl students in the special programs designed by our schools (segregated classrooms with female teachers only). In other areas, the girls classes have moved underground due to lack of approval by local authorities, and we will continue supporting our students in these make-shift classrooms as well.

Additionally, we have connected with underground schools in central and western provinces that are founded by brave women educators. The underground schools, that number in hundreds if not thousands across Afghanistan, have been created in reaction to the ban on girls' education. We are in communication with some of these schools, and they have urgent needs, including space/classrooms, books & stationary, teacher support and more. With your help, our goal is to support as many girls as we can in these underground schools. We will provide more details in our next report.

We would like to include two bio from our current students. We have changed their names and won’t disclose the name of schools for safety reasons. 

Khatera:

I’m 5^th grade and studying in my current school, thanks to the scholarship from Bamyan Foundation. I transferred to my current school due to a terrorist attack on my previous school. I’m glad with the quality of education and my teacher’s diligence and attention towards the students.

Mariam:

After the collapse, I stayed at home due to the ban on girls' education. Thanks to Bamyan Foundation, I got the opportunity to start school again last year and I’m currently in 12^th grade. After the Taliban takeover - many people, particularly girls and women, became depressed and with no rights. Many girls my age face the difficult choice of early marriage due to the situation that the Taliban have created. I hope that other girls get the same opportunity to go to school as I do so that they keep some of their hopes and dreams alive. 

In these challenging times, one of our main goals is to help our community hold on to some of the hard-earned gains of the past two decades, particularly with respect to girls' education.  

Please know that we rely on our support to continue our community-led education programs in the marginalized and persecuted communities in Afghanistan.

With Gratitude,

Timor + The Bamyan Foundation Team

Links:

• Bamyan Foundation's Scholarship Program
• Taliban bans beauty salons in Kabul