2022-2023 - Launch of Darakht-e Danesh Classroom, Remote Communication Assistance Program, & Safe Harbour Resettlement Program

2022

The Taliban ban women from attending higher education in Afghanistan.

Photo (left): CW4WAfghan’s Victoria Chapter hosts a Red Pashmina Walk to raise funds and support for the right to learn.

Darakht-e Danesh (DD) Classroom, a virtual secondary school, is launched in September 2022 and piloted with a class of seven students. DD Classroom expands in 2023 to include two cohorts of grade seven students, and two cohorts of grade eight students. Ultimately, DD Classroom will serve students of Afghan nationality from grades seven through 12, who will earn an internationally-recognized credential upon graduation.

A record 60 Shafia Fund scholarships are awarded to women in 2022.

2023

In response to the Taliban’s bans on basic and higher education for women and girls, CW4WAfghan launches the Remote Communication Assistance (RCA) program, connecting students, teachers, and grassroots organizations inside Afghanistan with connectivity and hardware to access virtual education opportunities. In its first year,  336 RCA grants were provided including laptops, internet packages, and power banks. 

The Taliban ban girls from attending school beyond grade three in some provinces. They close down teacher colleges throughout the country, dismissing 5600 faculty and staff. 

CW4WAfghan’s Advocacy Program is invited to deliver an oral statement at the UN on the importance of gender-equitable education in emergencies.

CW4WAfghan launches a new program: Safe Harbour: Protecting the Right to Learn through Resettlement. This program supports at-risk Afghan students and their families with resettlement support to come to Canada.

The Alliance for Women’s Education in Afghanistan is founded, and CW4WAfghan joins the Steering Committee alongside the American University for Afghanistan, UNHCR, and Education for Humanity. The inaugural members’ meeting is held in Doha, Qatar in June.

A new chapter is founded in Saskatoon. CW4WAfghan is supported by 10 wonderful and growing Chapters from coast-to-coast that continue to fundraise and rally for the right to learn: Victoria, Vancouver, Calgary, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, London, Peterborough, Toronto, Ottawa, and Atlantic.

CW4WAfghan provides a grant to Boum Books to print 8,000 books for distribution across Afghanistan: four children’s titles in each of Dari and Pashto.

CW4WAfghan is awarded a new grant from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) for a project to test and research a new approach to the professional development of exiled Afghan teachers in Pakistan.

CW4WAfghan begins granting access to its learning management system (LMS) to other schools, organizations and learning entities delivering virtual education to Afghan women and girls, through its Third Parties program.