Robina Azizi was just 16 years old when her homeland was overrun by Taliban fighters. She and her family had left Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital of northwestern Afghanistan's Balkh province, just a week earlier, as news of her Taliban arrival had already spread. Azizi was scheduled to take her 10th grade exam the next day, but she was unable to complete her schooling.
“When I got home from school, my mother told me to pack my things because she was leaving for Kabul,” Azizi told The Daily Beast. “I protested because I had exams left the next day, but her mother said that if she didn't leave now, the Taliban would come and force her to marry me.”
Azizi currently lives in Pakistan and immigrated with his family in October 2022. Since the Taliban took over Afghanistan in August 2021, the country has become the so-called world's largest prison for women. In March 2022, the first education ban was announced for girls in the sixth grade and above, and in December, university education was also banned. As a result, more than 1 million girls are affected. More than two years have passed since the Taliban took power, and girls and women have been excluded from all forms of public life and are increasingly losing their rights and civil liberties.
“The situation is really bad for us because women are not allowed to walk on the streets,” said Yalda, a 20-year-old Afghan woman whose name has been withheld to protect her identity. Before her acquisition, she achieved excellent marks in her exams and aspired to study medicine, but now she is confined to her home due to the ban on education imposed on girls and women .
Robina Azizi founded Girls on the Path of Change (GPC) in April 2023. She leveraged her social media to quickly spread her word, launching her first session and inviting girls from all over the country to share their stories with her community online.
Provided by Robina Azizi
“We can't leave the house. If they [Taliban] “If a woman is seen outside without a hijab, she can be arrested,” she said. “All day long we sit at home and do nothing. Sometimes I don't know what to do and end up crying.”
When Azizi moved to the Afghan capital a few weeks before the fall of Afghanistan, she was attending online school. After seeing girls from different states struggling with online classes, she decided to help them navigate the courses and find the right school.
Azizi's goal was to make sure you had everything you needed for successful online learning. She brings together girls from different regions and helping them get the education they desire has brought her great happiness.
“We didn't have a proper phone, internet or even a computer,” Azizi said. “But we somehow stayed connected through WhatsApp. Most of the girls I was helping at the time were classmates from her online school.”
Azizi founded Girls on the Path of Change (GPC) in April 2023, inspired by her experience supporting girls with online education. Social She leveraged her media to quickly spread the word, launching her first session and inviting girls from all over the country to share their thoughts. Online community stories.
“No one wants to listen to girls in Afghanistan. I wanted to change that. So, in my first session, I wanted to listen to the girls’ stories and support them. It was all about understanding the problem,” she explained.
GPC's primary objective is to provide educational opportunities to Afghan girls who have been affected by the Taliban's continued ban on education beyond the sixth grade. The organization operates without funding and relies on volunteers to provide programs such as language classes and photography and painting.
One month later, GPC welcomed a team of 10 volunteers from around the world and launched an online course with hundreds of students from across Afghanistan. What started as a solo effort has now evolved into a larger team of 10 volunteers, and in 2023 he will have more than 600 students graduating from his GPC class.
The community is currently expanding and includes more teachers and students. Alexandra Slayton, an online English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) teacher from Massachusetts, is one such volunteer.
“One of my former students, Ana, taught Robina in a virtual class. I found out about Robina and her story through her. I was intrigued by her, so I asked Ana to share her story with me. I asked to set up a meeting,” Slayton said. “I was hoping to meet some grown women, especially since the organization is so established.”[…] But I was very surprised when I met the teenagers. ”
Today, Aziji's efforts have successfully conducted workshops, exhibitions, and motivational seminars, reaching thousands of girls across more than five states in the country. We are actively working in various fields such as photography, painting, writing, online commerce, foreign languages, poetry, and speaking, and plan to expand further in the near future.
Despite her good intentions, the “road to change” is not as easy or seamless as Robina expects. The risks associated with the Taliban's strict laws and the logistical challenges of maintaining a stable internet connection are major obstacles.
Overcoming risks and challenges
Aman, whose name has been changed to protect his identity, is an education activist and volunteer GPC manager from Afghanistan's Herat province. He oversees his digital marketing and teaches English courses for beginners. Even though he is passionate about his work in the organization, he is forced to keep a low profile for his safety.
“The government's rules for girls and their education are not good for us, but this is not the time to sit back and ignore them. It is time to act,” Amaan told The Daily Beast.
“They don't know about us or where we are,” he added. “If they find out, we will be arrested.”
In October 2023, Pakistan announced that all illegal Afghan immigrants must leave the country. Since then, more than 1.7 million refugees have been returned to Afghanistan, and the ruling is expected to affect more than 2 million people. For those still residing in Afghanistan, poor internet connectivity and lack of infrastructure are impacting their ability to attend these classes regularly.
What started as a solo effort has now grown into a larger team of 10 volunteers, and more than 600 students will graduate from the GPC class in 2023.
Provided by Robina Azizi
“I've been very vocal about women's rights and education, so I'm always afraid of what will happen if they send me back,” she said.
Yalda, who started learning English at GPC to continue her education, expresses frustration at missing classes because she doesn't have WiFi at home and has unstable cell phone connections. This concern is echoed by Tamara, an English teacher who volunteered after reading a post on the organization's Facebook page.
“I was really excited to help girls in Afghanistan and volunteered to teach them English,” Tamara told The Daily Beast. “As I mentioned earlier, one of the challenges was the technical side. A lot of times we were cutting in and cutting out. People weren't connecting.”
Way forward
Azizi, who recently moved to Germany from Pakistan, is no stranger to the challenges of managing an organization. However, she is optimistic that she can complete her own education while working on expanding the scope of her GPC.
“I feel like I have a lot of opportunities to help here, especially girls. No one can kick me out of here and I feel really free,” she said. “We will do everything we can to give more opportunities to girls in our home country. Unlike in Pakistan, we no longer need permits, so we can work more safely.”
Fortunately for her, volunteers like Slayton bring a wealth of experience and provide invaluable support to streamline operations to reach more people in Afghanistan. Slayton leveraged her network and created a LinkedIn page, GPC English Academy, which allowed her team to gather volunteers from around the world who wanted to help educate girls in Afghanistan. But the long-term goal is to secure funding.
“We dream of obtaining grants from the U.S. government to provide scholarships to teachers and sustain their dedication,” Slayton said. “Additionally, the organization is looking to move beyond the current limitations of free platforms such as Google Meet and Zoom to a premium account for more features and access to the classroom learning management system.” We are aiming for.”
As the organization becomes more established, many girls in Afghanistan feel that GPC and its work has given them a new chance in life.
“I really like GPC. It's helpful for girls like me who can't go out to study,” Yalda said. “Thanks to GPC I was able to learn English online and now I can speak it well. I have good teachers and I am learning new things every day.”
