Marking 1,000 days since the Taliban banned girls from attending school beyond the sixth grade, the Malala Fund has announced over $1.5 million in new funding to support girls’ education in Afghanistan.
The funding, the Malala Fund stated, will be allocated to 13 organizations working to keep girls learning and to hold the Taliban accountable for its actions. “These grants, part of Malala Fund’s Afghanistan Initiative, support the delivery of digital and alternative learning programs for girls in Afghanistan and advocacy efforts to get gender apartheid recognized in international law,” the statement read.
The Malala Fund was founded by Malala Yousafzai, an education advocate and Nobel Prize laureate. Malala wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that many brave women and girls are fighting back, learning in secret, and refusing to let the Taliban deny them their rights. “They need and deserve our support,” she noted. “Lift up the voices of Afghan women and girls on the frontlines.”
The Malala Fund’s statement highlighted that millions of Afghan women and girls are now living under a system of gender apartheid—unable to go to school, work, or participate in public life. Despite their dire circumstances, women and girls are resisting by learning in secret and speaking out against the Taliban’s oppression.
Sahar Halaimzai, Director of the Malala Fund’s Afghanistan Initiative, revealed that by providing digital and alternative education pathways, Afghan girls can continue their education. “We are proud to support these innovative and impactful initiatives,” she said.
The Taliban’s ban on girls’ education beyond the sixth grade has now surpassed 1,000 days, leaving many girls counting the moments until they can return to their classes while living in uncertainty and depression.
