KABUL: Ahmad Allah Faisi is delighted his 16-year-old daughter has found a way to continue learning after the Taliban closed her school in Kabul three years ago.
She took an online class on graphics and design, and while online learning wasn’t exactly what she planned to do — she wanted to study computer science after high school — it did provide some 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 design assistance to everyone in the family. She designed the brand name and logo, and worked on videos she shot 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 all secondary schools for them.
Neither domestic appeals nor international pressure have helped lift the ban, which the Taliban have repeatedly called an “internal matter” and later extended to universities, preventing more than 100,000 female students from graduating.
Since the only public institution that girls are allowed to attend is the madrassah, which is an Islamic school that focuses on religious training, online learning is the only option available to access modern education.
It is unclear how many girls and women are involved in online learning in a country where less than 20 percent of the population has internet access.
Women in Tech International, the Afghanistan branch of the main organization offering the online courses and a global NGO promoting and supporting the success of women in technology, has signed up thousands of users since launching its digital training program two years ago.
“Many have been able to expand their networks with international experts and remote work opportunities, and some have begun pursuing advanced degrees online. These initiatives have given them valuable skills and a sense of empowerment and independence in a society where formal educational opportunities are limited,” Dr. Zahra Nazari, country director of Women in Tech Afghanistan, told Arab News.
“We have trained over 3,000 Afghan women through a variety of programs, including coding, artificial intelligence, data science and digital literacy,”
While such courses offer opportunities and hope, albeit limited to those with access to devices and internet connections, there is no illusion that they can truly replace schools and universities or help women become independent, even if they do so with restrictions on their work.
“Short-term and online programs can only provide temporary and incomplete solutions,” said Faizi, whose daughter is unable to put into practice even after learning design skills.
“If schools and universities do not reopen and women have better job opportunities, the situation for girls and women will remain the same,”
Shabana Amiri, a 20-year-old high school graduate from Kabul in 2021, tried online classes, and while she thought they were good, there was no way they could offer an alternative to traditional education.
“In schools and universities, we build careers and gain lifelong experience, whereas in short-term courses, we learn only a few skills. The only solution is to reopen schools and universities,” she said.
“Otherwise, most girls would want to leave the country to continue their education. I don’t want to stay in Afghanistan and be illiterate for the rest of my life.”
