KABUL: Ahmadullah Faizi was delighted when he found a way for his 16-year-old daughter to continue her education after the Taliban closed down her school in Kabul three years ago.
She took an online class in graphic design. Virtual learning was a little different from what she had planned, since she wanted to study computer science after graduating from high school. But it was a temporary relief.
“She is very creative… the online learning program has helped her gain new skills,” Faizi said.
“She is very happy and always offers to help the whole family with their design work. She designs brand names and logos and works with various videos that she clicks on her phone.”
Faizi's daughter is one of an estimated 1.1 million girls who have been denied access to formal education since September 2021, a month after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan and suspended secondary schooling for them.
Since then, neither domestic appeals nor international pressure have helped to lift the ban, which Taliban authorities have repeatedly claimed is an “internal matter” and later extended to universities, preventing more than 100,000 female students from completing their degrees.
Since the only public educational institutions allowed for girls were madrasas, Islamic schools with a focus on religious education, their only option for a modern education was online classes.
It is unclear how many girls and women are participating in online learning in a country where less than 20% of the population has access to the internet.
One of the leading providers of online courses is the Afghanistan chapter of Women in Tech International, a global NGO that promotes and supports women’s achievements in technology, which has enrolled thousands of users since launching its digital training program two years ago.
“Many have networked with professionals in other countries, have taken up remote work opportunities, and some have started advanced degrees online. These initiatives have provided invaluable skills and a sense of empowerment and independence in a society where formal education opportunities are limited,” Dr. Zahra Nazari, national director of Women in Tech Afghanistan, told Arab News.
“We have trained more than 3,000 Afghan women through various programs including coding, AI, data science, and digital literacy.”
While these courses offer opportunity and hope (for those with access to the devices and internet access), there is no illusion that they can replace physical schools and colleges or help women with work constraints become independent.
“Short-term and online programs can only provide temporary and imperfect solutions,” says Paiji, whose daughter learned design skills but never put them into practice.
“Until schools and universities reopen and allow women to get better jobs, the situation for girls and women will remain the same.”
Shabana Amiri, a 20-year-old from Kabul who graduated from high school in 2021, tried online classes and felt that while online classes were good, they did not provide an alternative to regular education.
“At school and college, we build careers and gain lifelong experience, but in short-term courses, we learn only limited skills. The only way out is to reopen schools and colleges,” she said.
“Otherwise, most girls would want to leave the country to get an education. I don't want to stay in Afghanistan and be illiterate for the rest of my life.”
