The Power Granted to Some
Written by Blaire Curley for Sahar Education
The Taliban Regime, notorious for its extreme religious views and conservative vision for its country, has spared no cost to mold the Afghanistan of their dreams. Women have been silenced, banned from the workforce, and forced to become prisoners in their own homes. The potential to be a thriving nation with abundant economic opportunity and global standing has been eroded at the hands of the de facto government. In the midst of the war the Taliban has waged on its people, there has been one recipient granted the privilege of mercy: young Afghan men.
The Taliban, which has never been shy of its opposition to young women’s reception of a higher education and visibility in professional spaces, has expanded on its dedication to seeing Afghan men succeed. Young Afghan men have been afforded the fundamental right to receive an education and pursue a higher one at the cost of young Afghan girls. In a recent action on behalf of the attack on girls' education, the Taliban has begun redistributing books from girls' classrooms to boys.
It is reported that “books from the Abdul-Majid Mussafa-Ghaznavi and Bibi Sara girls’ schools will be moved to Abdul-Hai Allahi, Mohammad Anwar Basmel, .. boys schools”(Mohammad, 2025). The concern is that the progressive drainage of resources will make the existence of girls' schools meaningless. Granting the Taliban justification to establish its beloved Madrassas. Madrasas, "religious centers focused on Islamic teachings” (Nowrouzi, 2025), have been the Taliban’s substitute for schools for young women. They are vessels to indoctrinate young women with the regime’s version of Islam and ensure obedience to their deeply held religious views.
For many young girls, it is the only classroom they will get to sit in. This depletion of resources from the few traditional classrooms for young girls expands the gender gap that exists between boys and girls in this region, and worsens the erosion of girls' ability to receive any level of education. It makes the simple act of learning a dream that may never be achieved. The profound message sent to Afghan girls and the international audience from the Taliban is not that education has been eradicated from Afghanistan. Instead, it has become a power granted to some.
In the midst of this overt violation of the rights of girls, bold efforts are being taken to combat this injustice. The existence of Sahar Education focuses not only on raising awareness about the gender apartheid that has overtaken Afghanistan, but on taking hands-on actions to ensure women’s education continues in secret and to counter the “re-education” given to young men by the Taliban.
Sahar, through the distribution of vital educational resources and partnerships with grassroots organizations, helps ensure that receiving an education is more than a dream for young Afghan women. Through your support of our work and sharing these stories, Sahar can expand on its commitment to helping Afghan girls.
Want to create a ripple of change for Afghan girls? Donations of $100 and up will receive matching through #JulyBonusDay and #GlobalGiving on July 16th starting at 7 am PST. Save the date!