Many take place in rooms with computers hooked up to generators, all in discreet locations to avoid Taliban detection.ĭurrani says the arrangement is designed to circumvent some of Afghanistan's big barriers to online education - lack of reliable internet, electricity and infrastructure. It currently enrolls more than 400 students. Learn Afghanistan offers vocational training for software development skills, but not university degrees. Since the university ban, I have been getting another dozen requests for starting university-level online courses," said Pashtana Durrani, an Afghan educator and director of the nonprofit Learn Afghanistan, which is based in the southern Kandahar province and today operates discreetly with the support of local elders. "I get more than 10 messages on social media every day asking about courses for girls. Other organizations are experiencing similar demand. The university does not have enough scholarships for everyone. "The Taliban's restrictions on education are extremely short-sighted and heartless." He says his university has received over 6,000 applications since December's ban was announced, compared to 10,000 in the entire prior year. "The future prospects for Afghan students are indeed bleak but that does not mean they should stop their educational journeys," said Shai Reshef, president of University of the People. Several universities and education institutes in addition to University of the People, such as FutureLearn, Herat School and Education Bridge have responded to this spike in demand by creating courses and offering scholarships to Afghan students, particularly women, to help them continue their education. studies online, unless electricity or internet are unavailable. college degree that is accepted by employers and other institutions of higher learning. Distance Education Accrediting Commission, making its degrees equivalent to a U.S. The University of the People is accredited by the U.S. In 2021 she secured a scholarship for University of the People, a private online university based in Pasadena, California. After the takeover, women were only allowed into universities every other day to ensure total gender segregation, so she searched for online coursework to fill the rest of her time. Though the regime allowed women to continue university education at first, "I did not trust them," M.H. says, "I cried myself to sleep for many days, but then I told myself 'I cannot let this be my reality.' " Those women who express dissent against Taliban authorities are met with violent suppression of their protests, as well as imprisonment, intimidation and even torture, forcing many to flee the country. Fewer than 12 percent of Afghan women feel treated with respect and dignity, according to a recent Gallup survey. Most girls have been forbidden to attend high school since the takeover. Women cannot travel without a male guardian and have few work options. Since seizing power in August 2021, the Taliban have curtailed women's rights. Obstacles abound, from erratic internet connectivity to a lack of jobs for women to aspire to. Many of them are now turning to digital spaces for alternatives. is one of an estimated 90,000 women impacted by the ban. "Now I cannot even apply for any further education because I have no document to prove that I finished my engineering degree." To have any hope of leaving and establishing a career abroad, or even of working in a future Afghanistan where the Taliban are no longer in power, she's relying on the one alternative available to her - making a second attempt to earn a bachelor's degree by taking online classes in computer science from a university in the U.S.Įnrollment in college in Afghanistan has historically been low for women and men. The Taliban "decided to withhold our diplomas just because we are women," M.H. But days after she completed requirements for a civil engineering degree, the Taliban banned women from universities. M.H., who requested anonymity fearing Taliban reprisal for speaking to the press and criticizing their policy, was inches from reaching her goal this past December. For years, she's dreamed of becoming an engineer, both to rebuild her country and to prove that women could work in what's often seen there as a male field. She's a young student in Afghanistan who graduated high school 3 years early at age 15.
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