New Delhi/London/Islamabad: Growing up at home in Herat, Afghanistan, Zainab Muhammad recalls hanging out with her friends in the cafeteria after a coding class. Now she logs on to online lessons every day to keep her secret.
after that his school closed Taliban Occupied the country in August. But this did not stop Muhammadi from learning.
Muhammadi requested the use of a pseudonym to protect his identity, “There are dangers and dangers for girls like me. If the Taliban finds out … they can give me severe punishment. They put me to death.” Can take it off too.”
“But I have not lost hope or my aspirations. I am determined to continue studying,” the 25-year-old told the Thomson Reuters Foundation over a video call.
He is one of an estimated hundreds afghan girls And women who are continuing to learn – some online and others in hidden temporary classes – despite the Taliban closing their schools.
Fareshteh Foro, CEO and founder of Code to Inspire (CTI) – Afghanistan’s first female coding academy – created encrypted virtual classrooms, uploaded course materials online, and provided laptop and internet packages to nearly 100 of its students, including Muhammadi.
“You can be locked at home (and) without hesitation, explore the virtual world without worrying about geographic boundaries. That’s the beauty of technology,” she said.
In September, the government said older boys could resume school with all primary age children, but asked older girls aged 12 to 18 to stay at home until their return was allowed. Don’t be
The Taliban, which banned girls’ education during its last regime nearly 20 years ago, has promised that it will allow them to go to school as it wants to show the world that she has changed.
A senior UN official who met with the Taliban earlier this month said the government was working on a roadmap, which would be published by the end of the year.
“The education gains of the past two decades must be strengthened, not withdrawn,” said Omar Abdi, deputy executive director of UNICEF, the UN children’s agency.
missed opportunities
According to UNICEF, after the Taliban was ousted in 2001, school attendance grew rapidly, with more than 3.6 million girls enrolled as of 2018.
The number of university-goers, now in the thousands, also soared. About 6% of women were pursuing tertiary education in 2020, up from 1.8% in 2011.
Nonetheless, the country has one of the world’s largest education gender gaps, with UNICEF saying that 60% of the 3.7 million Afghan children are girls out of school.
Campaigners say girls fail to complete their education at a great cost, including poverty, child marriage, early childbearing and lack of ability to access their rights and basic services.
“Education allows them to take care of their health, have a strong voice in their family, prevent domestic violence and be earners,” said Foro, whose school teaches everything from English to graphic design and mobile application development. Is.
“We didn’t want to wait. We wanted to continue our mission.”
afraid to study
The Taliban have also suggested they may turn to technology to help some women continue their studies.
Education Minister Abdul Baki Haqqani said at a news conference last month that women would be allowed to study in universities, but gender-segregated classes would be mandatory and female students should be taught by women.
Where this was not possible, he indicated that teaching could be done through streaming or closed circuit television.
While some private universities have reopened, public universities remain closed.
Aisa, a psychology student, hoped to use her degree to help with the mental health of young Afghans – which she says is a major, but little-understood issue in the country.
But with the Taliban coming to power, her dreams were dashed and she is now hiding after threats to her family.
AISA is about to launch a health science degree with the University of the People, a US-based organization that offers online courses around the world to students who face barriers to higher education.
The university is offering 1,000 scholarships to Afghan women who can no longer study.
“Without this scholarship I have no opportunity, and my future is ruined. This is my last chance to get a degree,” said Aisa, whose name has been changed to protect her identity. “It’s safer for women like me to study underground.”
He said that all his girlfriends in Afghanistan were forced to leave their studies. Even if the Taliban eventually allows women to return to university, she said many would be too afraid to do so. The University of the People said that students only need a smartphone or tablet to take one of its four degree courses — business, education, computer science or health science.
Shai Reshef, the university’s president, said, “These women have no choice but to study online. Most cannot go out of the country. We are trying to give them some hope.”
Supervision
Digital experts fear that the cash-strapped Taliban will not be able to maintain energy supplies, communication networks and technical infrastructure.
Kabul-based IT consultant Mustafa Soltani said that not only could satellite companies and fiber providers from neighboring countries such as Iran snap services, but the Taliban could begin spying and censoring communications.
Seeing Taliban soldiers snatching and searching people’s mobile phones at checkpoints, Soltani said, “There is great potential for strict sanctions, surveillance and even espionage in the Taliban digital realm, where they can prey on dissidents, critics and critics.” Huh.”
but it’s nothing to worry about Pashtana Zalmai Khan Durrani, founder of the nonprofit Learn, which has enrolled nearly 100 girls in an underground school where they are learning science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) on a tablet.
She is working with US finance and tech firms to launch satellite internet to circumvent any Taliban sanctions.
“I have my hideouts with me. They can’t do anything, even if they try to cut off internet access. We’ll do our part,” said the 23-year-old, hiding from the Taliban at an undisclosed location.
Like some of LEARN’s students, Muhammadi and his CTI classmates are working remotely with global tech firms on app development and graphic design.
This allows them to earn up to $500 per month – paid mostly in cash or money transfers – and provides an unimaginable achievement for their families during the Taliban’s previous regime.
But Muhammadi does not want to stop here.
“It is always said that Afghan women are weak and can’t do anything… but I want to prove that we are strong,” she said.
“I want to continue to study and inspire more students … and be known as one of the best coders in the world.”
after that his school closed Taliban Occupied the country in August. But this did not stop Muhammadi from learning.
Muhammadi requested the use of a pseudonym to protect his identity, “There are dangers and dangers for girls like me. If the Taliban finds out … they can give me severe punishment. They put me to death.” Can take it off too.”
“But I have not lost hope or my aspirations. I am determined to continue studying,” the 25-year-old told the Thomson Reuters Foundation over a video call.
He is one of an estimated hundreds afghan girls And women who are continuing to learn – some online and others in hidden temporary classes – despite the Taliban closing their schools.
Fareshteh Foro, CEO and founder of Code to Inspire (CTI) – Afghanistan’s first female coding academy – created encrypted virtual classrooms, uploaded course materials online, and provided laptop and internet packages to nearly 100 of its students, including Muhammadi.
“You can be locked at home (and) without hesitation, explore the virtual world without worrying about geographic boundaries. That’s the beauty of technology,” she said.
In September, the government said older boys could resume school with all primary age children, but asked older girls aged 12 to 18 to stay at home until their return was allowed. Don’t be
The Taliban, which banned girls’ education during its last regime nearly 20 years ago, has promised that it will allow them to go to school as it wants to show the world that she has changed.
A senior UN official who met with the Taliban earlier this month said the government was working on a roadmap, which would be published by the end of the year.
“The education gains of the past two decades must be strengthened, not withdrawn,” said Omar Abdi, deputy executive director of UNICEF, the UN children’s agency.
missed opportunities
According to UNICEF, after the Taliban was ousted in 2001, school attendance grew rapidly, with more than 3.6 million girls enrolled as of 2018.
The number of university-goers, now in the thousands, also soared. About 6% of women were pursuing tertiary education in 2020, up from 1.8% in 2011.
Nonetheless, the country has one of the world’s largest education gender gaps, with UNICEF saying that 60% of the 3.7 million Afghan children are girls out of school.
Campaigners say girls fail to complete their education at a great cost, including poverty, child marriage, early childbearing and lack of ability to access their rights and basic services.
“Education allows them to take care of their health, have a strong voice in their family, prevent domestic violence and be earners,” said Foro, whose school teaches everything from English to graphic design and mobile application development. Is.
“We didn’t want to wait. We wanted to continue our mission.”
afraid to study
The Taliban have also suggested they may turn to technology to help some women continue their studies.
Education Minister Abdul Baki Haqqani said at a news conference last month that women would be allowed to study in universities, but gender-segregated classes would be mandatory and female students should be taught by women.
Where this was not possible, he indicated that teaching could be done through streaming or closed circuit television.
While some private universities have reopened, public universities remain closed.
Aisa, a psychology student, hoped to use her degree to help with the mental health of young Afghans – which she says is a major, but little-understood issue in the country.
But with the Taliban coming to power, her dreams were dashed and she is now hiding after threats to her family.
AISA is about to launch a health science degree with the University of the People, a US-based organization that offers online courses around the world to students who face barriers to higher education.
The university is offering 1,000 scholarships to Afghan women who can no longer study.
“Without this scholarship I have no opportunity, and my future is ruined. This is my last chance to get a degree,” said Aisa, whose name has been changed to protect her identity. “It’s safer for women like me to study underground.”
He said that all his girlfriends in Afghanistan were forced to leave their studies. Even if the Taliban eventually allows women to return to university, she said many would be too afraid to do so. The University of the People said that students only need a smartphone or tablet to take one of its four degree courses — business, education, computer science or health science.
Shai Reshef, the university’s president, said, “These women have no choice but to study online. Most cannot go out of the country. We are trying to give them some hope.”
Supervision
Digital experts fear that the cash-strapped Taliban will not be able to maintain energy supplies, communication networks and technical infrastructure.
Kabul-based IT consultant Mustafa Soltani said that not only could satellite companies and fiber providers from neighboring countries such as Iran snap services, but the Taliban could begin spying and censoring communications.
Seeing Taliban soldiers snatching and searching people’s mobile phones at checkpoints, Soltani said, “There is great potential for strict sanctions, surveillance and even espionage in the Taliban digital realm, where they can prey on dissidents, critics and critics.” Huh.”
but it’s nothing to worry about Pashtana Zalmai Khan Durrani, founder of the nonprofit Learn, which has enrolled nearly 100 girls in an underground school where they are learning science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) on a tablet.
She is working with US finance and tech firms to launch satellite internet to circumvent any Taliban sanctions.
“I have my hideouts with me. They can’t do anything, even if they try to cut off internet access. We’ll do our part,” said the 23-year-old, hiding from the Taliban at an undisclosed location.
Like some of LEARN’s students, Muhammadi and his CTI classmates are working remotely with global tech firms on app development and graphic design.
This allows them to earn up to $500 per month – paid mostly in cash or money transfers – and provides an unimaginable achievement for their families during the Taliban’s previous regime.
But Muhammadi does not want to stop here.
“It is always said that Afghan women are weak and can’t do anything… but I want to prove that we are strong,” she said.
“I want to continue to study and inspire more students … and be known as one of the best coders in the world.”
.