In December 2022, the ruling Taliban authorities in Afghanistan issued a directive to public and private universities to ban all female students. Higher education institutions were forced to put the ban into effect immediately, putting an end to the education of tens of thousands of women across Afghanistan, and barring girls and young women who had been hopeful to soon start their university journey.
We are calling upon concerned citizens and higher education institutions to stand in solidarity with Afghan women, take concrete actions to uphold their right to education and open up opportunities for affected women to find alternative access to higher education by mobilizing university resources and communities.
Use our higher education toolkit to take action
Advocate for Afghan Women’s Access to Higher Education
Advocate for systems-level change in support of Afghans’ right to education:
- Show Solidarity: Releasing a statement in solidarity with Afghan women on your institution’s homepage (see our template here)
- Get the Word Out: Read and share our factsheet on the Taliban’s war on women’s education
- Amplify: Share our social media posts to raise awareness, using the hashtags #EducationIsARight, #LetHerLearn, #AllOrNone and request our social media toolkit
- Welcome Student Refugees: Advocate for your university to expand its student refugee program to provide dedicated spaces for Afghan women, or to adopt a student refugee program if your institution doesn’t yet have one
- Advocate: Engage with existing networks and alliances focused on providing higher education for Afghan women and girls to amplify advocacy efforts and share best practices.
- Educate: Share information about what is happening in Afghanistan with your students and encourage them to organize their own actions in solidarity with students in Afghanistan
- Take Action: Support student-led advocacy for the gender equitable right to education
