Afghan University in Exile
Context
Since the return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, education for girls beyond elementary school has been banned. Although the level of schooling over the past 20 years was far from adequate, in the cities, the presence of schools allowed a generation of girls to complete their education and begin a professional career. All this was stopped overnight, to the great despair of the female pupils.
Despite the harshness of the Taliban's measures, most families want their daughters to continue their education, and the girls themselves are particularly keen to do so. A by-now chronic state of depression amongst girls and daily suicide attempts show the extent of their despair.
We have put in place two series of projects from October 2021: 1. e-leaning for high school and university girls and 2. clandestine courses for high school girls. 3. Since February 2023 Medical courses for midwifery students who were about to complete their studies when the Taliban
Our team
With a founding committee made up of Afghans in exile, in particular Ibrahim Mateen (engineer), Rateb Noori (journalist), Sahra Noori (chemist) and Lutfia Atay (translator), we set up a project that initially included both underground girls’ schools in Afghanistan and the 'Afghan University in Exile'. Each of the founding members remains very active in the project.
E-learning section
Beneficiaries
Students in Afghanistan who own computers and able to afford internet, that is girls living in big cities. We helped a group of female students in Afghanistan to buy a small computer and pay for an internet subscription.
1. E-learning courses
Pedagogical manager: Ibrahim Mateen
Since October 2021, refugee academics have been giving online courses and seminars in Dari accessible to students in Afghanistan, especially in computer science, English, journalism, Persian literature.
These courses are, of course, free.
2. Preparation for the National University Entrance Examination (since October 2022)
Pedagogical manager: Rateb Noori
In Afghanistan, in order to enter the university, potential candidates must pass an exam called "Concours" in 10 specific subjects, Math, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Trigonometry, History, Geography, Dari, Pashto, to which we have English mainly scientific, whatever subject they choose to study. This exam is held when candidates reach 12th grade.
With the Taliban destruction of the educational system, it is obvious that there will be no female candidates capable of passing such an exam and the university will be closed to women. It will also be impossible to apply for any scholarships to study abroad because female high school students will simply not have the required level. Yet some 100,000 potential candidates will be able to benefit from these courses for free.
Unfortunately, just as we were finishing the recording of these courses, the Taliban banned university for female students. Nevertheless, the courses exist and can be useful not only for male students, but girls wishing to study from home
All these courses were uploaded on a specially created You-Tube channel. 161 lectures have been recorded
MEDICAL STUDIES
We realized that the biggest problem for university students lay with those female students who were about to finish their last year. This is especially disastrous for last year medical students in a country where public health has just about collapsed. Medical studies in Afghanistan start with several years of pure theory and it’s only at the end that future doctors, nurses, midwives actually engage in a practicum in hospital. This in fact opens possibilities for us to help by financing the end of their studies.
Midwife training
At the end of February 2023, we launched a pilot project to perfect the training of midwives in Afghanistan with the AMA, the Association of Midwives of Afghanistan. 12 midwifery trainees are doing their hospital internship under hospital supervision in Kabul maternity hospitals for 4 months. This project will be renewed
The (still precarious) state of our finances
For 2021-2022, we benefited from a grant from the DIAIR and for 2022-2023 a grant from the Raja Daniele Marcovici Foundation, as well as a donation from a regional branch of Mères pour la Paix.
We have partnered with another French charity working on the same kind of school projects, Nayestane
To make a bank transfer: infoATfemaid.org
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contact: info@femaid.org
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