EDUCATION FOR AFGHAN GIRLS
SUPpORTING HERAT ONLINE SCHOOL
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You can help to provide education and hope to girls in Afghanistan who have been denied their right to an education. Please donate today.
If you wish to donate or transfer funds in a different way (e.g. via BACS), please get in touch with us:
Email: amyrook@childrenontheedge.org or call 01243 538530 ext 210.
Email: amyrook@childrenontheedge.org or call 01243 538530 ext 210.
Children on the Edge are working alongside Angela Ghayour, the founder of Herat Online School and an Afghan refugee, living in the UK to support her vital work. Your donation will help fund the ongoing work of Herat Online School as well as enable Angela to set up a UK registered charity so she and her team can manage the programme effectively, reach more children, and ensure a sustainable future for the school.
Donate today to ensure Afghan girls don’t miss out on education.
Donate today to ensure Afghan girls don’t miss out on education.
ANGELA GHAYOUR AND HERAT ONLINE SCHOOL
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When the Taliban took control in Afghanistan in 2021, women and girls were forced out of school, and back into their homes. Angela Ghayour, an Afghan refugee and ex-teacher, living in the UK, started receiving hundreds of messages from previous teaching colleagues and students in Herat asking her for help. She decided she had to do something. Herat Online School was set up in September 2021 to ensure that Afghan girls could still access education. The school supports not just girls in Afghanistan, but children who who have fled the country and are unable to continue their education in their new homes. Boys can also access lessons, which is vitally important to help combat the heavily misogynistic curriculum they are exposed to in Afghan schools. |
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In its first 6 months, Angela recruited 300 volunteer teachers from around the world and over 3,000 students registered with the school. Children have access to hundreds of different classes.
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“I wanted to make sure that the girls of my homeland learn to dream and understand there is more to this life than what the Taliban is trying to convince them of.”
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Subjects are varied and include sciences, languages, maths, IT, philosophy and critical thinking as well as support from psychologists to address mental health. Under Taliban rule, music and the arts have particularly suffered, but lessons covering these subjects are available at the Herat Online School.
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“My idea was to fight against and address the most brutal educational discrimination in the twenty-first century. The solution to peace in our country is an educational path that connects Afghan citizens in a constructive way, with each other and for each other.”
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THE SITUATION FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS IN AFGHANISTAN
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The Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021, and since their takeover, they have issued countless draconian policies that violate the human rights of women and girls in the country. Millions of women and girls in Afghanistan are being deprived of the chance to lead free, safe, fulfilling lives.
Their rights to education, work and free movement have been removed, preventing the vast majority of girls at secondary level from returning to school. The Taliban reneged on a promise to reopen high schools in March 2022, then indefinitely banned women from universities in December 2022. Women have been unable to return to work and the Taliban have arbitrarily detained women and girls for violating their discriminatory rules, including restrictions on clothing. |
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Restrictions on freedom of movement have accelerated, with women ordered to be accompanied by a ‘mahram’ or male chaperone for long journeys and now barred from leaving their homes entirely unless necessary. This has all contributed to a surge in the rate of child, early and forced marriage in Afghanistan.
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“With knowledge and action, Afghan girls have the power to build a safer and more peaceful future for our country”.
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