Support Girls' Education in Afghanistan

Thank you for your support to “Support Girl’s Education in Afghanistan”.

Girls and women remain systematically banned from schools, universities and employment in Taliban-run Afghanistan. In partnership with local leaders and educators, Bamyan continues to provide education opportunities for girls via our underground schools and education programs in multiple provinces in Afghanistan. Our schools and programs are located in the marginalized and persecuted Hazara communities, who are ostracized due to race/ethnicity, religion and the community’s overwhelming support for democratic values during the US intervention in Afghanistan. Hazara girls and women are in higher risks due to the intersectionality of gender, race and religion.

This academic year -  upon requests from local leaders and educators, we embarked on supporting two major new initiatives in a remote Hazara village in central Afghanistan: 

          a).  A new underground school that enrolls 33 girls

          b). Supporting a community-led education center that serves 290 girls.

The academic year started in March 2025, and we are providing 181 scholarships (142 girls and 39 boys) in our various underground schools and regular schools in multiple provinces in Afghanistan. With the inclusion of the 290 girls from the education center, 432 girls are receiving the gift of an education in 2025. 

With this year’s tally, our team has made education accessible to 1,671 students (1,181 girls and 490 boys) in the marginalized and persecuted Hazara communities in Afghanistan since the inception of the program in 2016. 

We have received updates from all of our schools and we are pleased to inform you that the schools continue their operations discreetly and the girls are progressing academically. For their safety, we do not disclose names and locations and we have made minor edits for length and clarity.

New underground School and Education Center:

Overview 

This report details the progress and implementation status of a new underground school financially supported by the Bamyan Foundation. The initiative is designed to provide quality, safe, and structured education to 33 7th-grade girls who have been excluded from formal education since the Taliban's resurgence. These students completed 6th grade in 2022, 2023 and 2024 and were otherwise unable to continue their studies. 

The underground school launched on June 4, 2025, the program encompasses eight academic subjects and operates four hours per day, five days a week. It follows a structured schedule with attendance monitoring, lesson planning, and ongoing academic assessments. 

Note: Although the Afghan academic year officially begins in Hamal 2nd (March 22nd), the underground class commenced in June 2025 due to financial and security considerations. To address this delay, the school plans to conduct classes during the winter months and deliver the curriculum through a focused and accelerated schedule, ensuring students achieve all intended learning outcomes within the shortened academic timeframe.

Key Achievements 

1. Classroom Setup and Launch 

• A safe and secure location was identified and renovated for classroom use. 
• Furnishings, including a 4x8 meter carpet, a teacher’s desk and chair, and a whiteboard, were prepared. 

2. Teacher Recruitment and Onboarding 

• Two qualified teachers were hired in early June. Both possess prior teaching experience and have received orientation on underground education protocols. 

3. Student enrollment and Attendance 

• 33 students, all girls who graduated from 6th grade in 2022, 2023 and 2024, were enrolled. 
• A school register has been created to monitor daily attendance. 
• The average attendance rate over this report period has been 98%, demonstrating strong community engagement and parental support. 

4. Curriculum Delivery 

• Eight core subjects, including Dari, Mathematics, Physics, English, Pashto, Chemistry, Biology, and Islamic Studies are being taught to students according to an organized daily schedule. 
• Textbooks for all eight subjects were procured and distributed. 

5. Supplies and Logistics 

• Stationery kits (notebooks, pencils, pens, etc.) were purchased and distributed to all 33 students. 

Challenges 

1. Security Concerns: Increased Taliban patrols in some areas have necessitated additional precautions for student and teacher movement. 
2. Delayed Start of Classes: The project began three months after the formal academic year due to financial and security challenges. An accelerated schedule has been implemented to ensure students can catch up without compromising the quality or depth of instruction. 

Conclusion 

The first quarter of implementation has marked a strong start for the underground education initiative. Despite a challenging operating environment and delayed launch, the school and local educators have successfully mobilized community support, trained staff, and delivered education to 33 determined young girls. 

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Education Center:

Upon the request of village elders, educators and community leaders, Bamyan is supporting a community-founded and led education center in the same remote village as our new underground school. This education center provides tutoring services for 290 girls from grades 7 to 12. Girls from neighboring villages are enrolled as well. The center provides instruction in Math, Physics, and English, with classes covering from beginner to advanced levels. It also offers a TOEFL preparation course for students who complete advanced English classes.  In addition to classes, the center offers extracurricular activities like book reading competitions to help female students improve their knowledge and awareness. 

The center’s programs run for 10 months, costing 22,500 Afghanis (about 350 USD) per month for salaries, plus an additional 150 USD for the book competition program. The total cost is estimated at 2,950 USD, covering salaries for two teachers, one school attendant, and the book competition program. Here is the budget breakdown:

• Salaries for Two Teachers: $325/month x 8 months = $2,600 
• Salary for One School Attendant: $25/month x 8 months = $200 
• Book Competition: $150 

Supporting girls' education during this challenging time is vital for a peaceful and prosperous future. With your help, we can ensure these 290 girls continue to dream, learn, and lead, rather than becoming part of a lost generation. 

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The following is an update from one of our underground schools that Bamyan has been supporting since the collapse of the Afghan government. For safety reasons, we have changed the school’s name to School A and minor edits for length and clarity

School A:

The Taliban regime has a strict role on education of girls, and does not allow them to continue their education after finishing grade six. This tough situation had affected 36 of our female students. They were hopeless, upset, staying home without making any progress and their future seemed to be completely dark.

The Innovation

Realizing the tough situation, School A, supported by Bamyan Foundation, began to address the issue by providing underground classes for the 36 female students away from the eyes of local authority to guarantee their future. By conducting the classes, we have two important goals: one to provide quality education for the students so that they can fulfill their dream of becoming educated people. The second one is to help the students overcome their depression. For the period of time that the students were deprived of education, their parents reported that they suffered a lot and felt that their future would be dark and meaningless. Now that the students have the opportunity to continue their education, they are in a better state of mind and progressing in their ongoing classes. 

The Outcome

The students are divided in two groups. One group includes 23 students and the other one contains 13 students. The first session is from 8:00 to 10:00 am while the second is from 10:00 to 12:00 pm. There are three teachers providing educational services for the students. This year, the classes began on April 21, 2025. The students are taught Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, English, Pashto, Biology, Art and Islamic studies. In addition, they are engaged in sessions for speaking skills, hygiene education, drawing as well as women's rights awareness. Many of these 36 students come to attend the classes from remote villages and are very much eager to continue their studies. They seem more motivated right now than they were before.  

Recently, the mid-term exam was taken and the result of exam was shared with us. The result of exam shows that the students' motivation is increasing. They are now better than the previous year. Every morning, they leave their houses in purpose of gaining quality education. Most of the students come from impoverished backgrounds, but they are highly motivated because of the support they receive from the Foundation and the education opportunity. The students, their families, and the school principal are grateful to the Bamyan Foundation because of supporting the students in this difficult time.  

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And last but not least, please know that starting September 11, 9:00 AM ET, Bamyan Foundation is participating in GlobalGiving’s 2025 Safer World Fund campaign. All donation up to $1,000 per unique donor to our project Support Girls’ Education in Afghanistan will be matched 100% while funds remain. This will be a great opportunity to maximize your impact and make education accessible for girls in Afghanistan. 

We are immensely grateful to you, our generous donors and supporters, that enable our team to continue this meaningful and purpose-driven work to make education accessible for girls in Afghanistan. Special thanks to Fatima Qasimi and Saifullah Safari for raising the necessary funds to support the new underground school and the education center.

With gratitude,

Timor + the Bamyan Foundation Team

Links:

• Bamyan's Scholarship Report
• Bamyan's Education Program
• Examination of Breaches of Genocide Convention in Afghanistan

• from one of our new students (PDF)
  
• from one our new students (PDF)
  

Thank you for your generous donations to Support Girls’ Education in Afghanistan.

As indicated in our previous reports, we provided 156 scholarships (127 girls and 29 boys) in various regular schools and underground schools located in several provinces in Afghanistan in the academic year 2024. All of the 127 girls and 28 boys passed their final exams and moved on to the next grades. We already provided an update last month for the boys via our Scholarships for At-risk Youth project. This report provides an update on the 127 girl students only.

Since the inception of our scholarship program in 2016, Bamyan has provided 1200 yearly scholarships for youth, 749 scholarships for girls and 451 scholarships for boys, in various provinces in the marginalized and persecuted Hazara communities in Afghanistan. 127 girls passing their finals is an amazing result and demonstrates the desire and hard work of our students towards education and the dedication of our teachers towards the students and the program.

Please know that the scholarship fund that covers tuition, uniform and stationary for our students is in turn used as salaries for teachers. In other words, not only girls get a quality education but also women teachers earn a modest income to support their families. And this helps the schools stay operational.  

The new academic year started in late March. This year, while we will continue supporting our current students and schools, our team in collaboration with community leaders in the diaspora and on the ground are discreetly working to start a new underground school for girls in another province. We will provide more updates in our next report. Please know that our teachers and community leaders on the ground take enormous risks to make education accessible for girls and for their safety and security – we do not disclose names and locations of our schools.

Each year, we raise funds a year in advance for the following academic year. In 2024, our Bamyan colleagues and community leaders in the diaspora helped us raise the necessary funds to keep our programs operational in the academic year 2025. We are enormously thankful to Rohina Liu, Aziz Mahdi, Amina Hassanpour, Homira Rezai,  Ariyan Mirzayi, Zahra Yagana and Mahnaz Akbari to rally their network and organize fundraisers to raise money for our 2025 scholarship recipients. The donations were generously matched by our partner, GlobalGiving.  

And not to mention, we are endlessly grateful to our generous donors who have continuously enabled our team to continue making edcuational accessible for girls in Afghanistan in these dificult times.

With gratitude,

Timor + The Bamyan Foundation team

Links:

• Brief Summary of Bamyan's scholarship program
• A girls walks into her former school 3 years after the ban ...