A Letter from an Afghan Educator: Optimism in the Face of Agony

On Monday, the Taliban's Ministry of Education announced that it will allow girls from 1st to 6th grade to continue their studies in schools. The announcement was a welcome surprise. Late last month, in addition to announcing that women would be barred from attending universities and working for nongovernmental associations, NPR reported that some female teachers were expelled from their classrooms, prompting many to worry that girls would no longer be allowed any education at all. 

In the midst of all this troubling Taliban action, my dear friend Shabana Basij-Rasikh keeps me updated about her mission to educate Afghan girls in middle and high school. Shabana is the cofounder and president of the School of Leadership, Afghanistan (SOLA), the country's first and only girls' boarding school.

In the autumn of 2012, Shabana, then just 22, stood on the TEDWomen stage in Washington, DC, and challenged the world to dare to educate Afghan girls — to join her in her life's work of creating the best educated generation Afghanistan had ever seen, one that would help her nation rise above the desolation of years spent under Taliban rule.

She founded SOLA in 2016, fulfilling her dream and vision of a boarding school in Kabul that would offer girls an education and a residential life experience that was unparalleled in Afghanistan. In addition to being an acronym, "sola" means "peace" in the Pashto language. Shabana says, "this word is our vision, and this word is our goal."

In the summer of 2021, Shabana stood at the airport in Kabul as the Taliban roamed the streets of her hometown once more, and helped to coordinate the evacuation of nearly 250 members of her school community, including nearly 100 SOLA students, away from Afghanistan and into Rwanda. 

She returned to the TEDWomen stage in December of 2021 to recount that harrowing evacuation experience and to share the story of the new school that is now flourishing in Rwanda. I want to share with you an update on Shabana's vital work. She and her staff and students made it out of Kabul, but so many women and girls remain in Afghanistan, denied an education and all the opportunities that come with it.

Students at SOLA in Rwanda. (Courtesy of SOLA)

Dearest ones,

I remember talking with my father, the two of us in Kabul during SOLA’s early days. A few of you reading this have met my father, and I wrote a story for The Washington Post last year that starred him pretty prominently – I’ve introduced him to all of you, literally and figuratively.

My father’s always supported me. Always. And I remember talking with him in those early days, and I remember him telling me: “Your school is a date tree, and you’re a young woman planting it. It can take decades to bear fruit. You won’t be young when it comes. You might not even be alive.”

My dad’s honest. I understood what he was saying, and I’m sure you do too. He was telling me to take the long view. Change takes time, and he was right.

Last October, the world marked the 10th anniversary of International Day of the Girl. SOLA has been a part of my life for every one of those 10 years. It’s been profound seeing the world change, seeing more and more communities and governments and individuals honoring and celebrating girls and their accomplishments.

And then there’s Afghanistan. The only nation on Earth where girls are barred from secondary school and higher education, with a ban on women attending university following last month. A nation where girls struggle for the dignity that comes with education, and find new ways to pursue their dreams, and are targeted for it, and die because of it.

I’ve written about this too. I cannot tear my eyes away from the faces of the Hazara girls murdered in their tutoring center in Kabul, attacked only because of who they were and who they could become.

SOLA stands alone, the only physically functioning school where Afghan girls can receive secondary education. A transplanted tree, rooting down in new soil. Admissions season is over. From 180 applications, we’ve offered enrollment to 27 Afghan girls from five nations, and they’ve begun arriving in Rwanda on a rolling basis.

As they come, I think back on October and International Day of the Girl. This was our 2nd celebration of IDG in exile. Last year, our girls centered the day around their commitment to their Afghan sisters back home. This year, we made an effort to expand the definition of sisterhood to include girls in Rwanda. We invited students from local schools to campus, and I watched Rwandan girls stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Afghan girls, laughing and playing games and listening to guest speakers and having discussions of their own.

I wish you could have seen it.

The long view is optimism in the face of agony. It’s commitment to the potential of educated girls, because educated girls become educated women who change the world. And maybe even save it.

Sola,

Shabana

We must all keep the women of Afghanistan in our hearts and minds, and continue to support them in whatever ways we can. I've included a list of organizations, like SOLA, that I hope you will follow and support.

School of Leadership, Afghanistan (SOLA)
Follow Shabena on Twitter: twitter.com/sbasijrasikh
Follow SOLA on Twitter: twitter.com/SOLAAfghanistan
You can donate to SOLA here: sola-afghanistan.org/donate 

Afghan Institute of Learning, (Sakena Fund)
Creating hope for women and children in Afghanistan through education, healthcare, economic opportunity and civic engagement.
Follow Sakena on Twitter: twitter.com/SakenaYacoobi
Follow AIL on Twitter: twitter.com/ail_ngo
You can donate to AIL here: sakena.org/ways-to-donate.php

Malala Fund
Malala Fund supports Afghan education advocates who offer alternative education programs for girls while schools remain closed. 
Follow Malala Fund on Twitter: twitter.com/MalalaFund
Follow Malala Fund on Facebook: facebook.com/MalalaFund

Gawharshad Media
This online media account brings you the news and stories of Afghan women by our finest team of women reporters.
Follow them on Twitter: twitter.com/GawharshadMedia

US-Afghan Women's Council
Under the leadership of First Ladies Laura Bush, Hillary R. Clinton, and Rula Ghani, all of whom serve together as the Honorary Co-Chairs of the USAWC, the Council has worked to address areas of need identified by Afghan women, convening interested partners and brokering connections to meaningful sustainable platforms.
Follow them on Twitter: twitter.com/USAfghanWC
Follow them on Facebook: facebook.com/USAfghanWC

Onward!
- Pat