by Henrique Faustino

The consequences of the takeover of Kabul for women, the capital of Afghanistan, by the Taliban (a radical group of fighters) has become one of the main concerns in the country and throughout the world. During the first Taliban government in Afghanistan, in the 1990s, females who were older than 10 were prohibited from studying and working, among other restrictions. Although the group has made claims that it will not impose such measures now, women’s rights advocates fear for the country’s future.

One of these activists is Pashtana Durrani, founder of the non-governmental organization (NGO) Learn. Pashtana’s family was forced to flee Afghanistan in 1996. Pashtana, who is now 23, was born in a refugee camp in Pakistan. While visiting family members in the Afghan city of Kandahar years later, she noted how challenging it was for her cousins to have access to education. This made her realize that technology could make a difference there.

Pashtana was 19 and  permanently back in Afghanistan when she founded an NGO specialized in rural education and focused on women’s rights.  The organization is headquartered in the Kandahar region and has helped more than 900 women have access to education through platforms and materials available digitally as well as offline.

Pashtana’s initiatives could endanger her now that the Taliban is back in power. Thus, after the group’s occupation of Kandahar, she has had to hide in an undisclosed location for her own safety. Pashtana remains firm strong in her mission to provide education and a means for Afghan girls and women to study. She has declared in numerous interviews with international media outlets that even if the Taliban attack her online platform, she will continue to distribute books and teach women.

Questions
1) When did Pashtana Durrani’s family leave Afghanistan?
a) 1996
b) 1990
c) 2021
d) When she was 23 years old.

2) How could people help girls in Afghanistan get access to education?

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