Project Description
/ AFGHANISTAN
Right to education for 12 Afghan students in Iran
CONTEXT
Since August 2021, the Taliban have been in power in Afghanistan. It didn’t take long for the fundamentalists to deprive women of all their rights: to work, to move freely, to dress… Or access to education. Millions of Afghan women saw their fundamental right to education denied overnight.
Knowledge is power, and that’s why the Taliban forbid girls to study. There are no longer any state schools, only the possibility of attending Koranic schools up to the age of 12. Since December 20, 2022, the Taliban have banned women from higher education. The very next day, Afghan women could no longer enter their university campuses. They have been banned ever since.
→ 12 Afghan women receive scholarships in Iran
THE PROJECT
The scholarship project for Afghan girls provides 12 female students with an opportunity for higher education. The project circumvents the ban on higher education by offering scholarships to study in Iran. The scholarships cover tuition fees, accommodation and other expenses. This enables the girls to pursue their academic ambitions without financial constraints.
The main aim is to guarantee access to education, empower beneficiaries and promote gender equality. By supporting female students throughout their academic career, the project aims to train community leaders capable of catalyzing positive change in Afghanistan. The success of these students could inspire other girls and contribute to sustainable development and greater equality in their home countries.
In short, this ambitious project aims not only to transform the lives of the 12 beneficiaries, but also to create a significant societal impact in Afghanistan when the students return. The project aims to break cycles of marginalization and foster a new generation of educated, influential Afghan women.
Discover our other projects in Afghanistan :
Afghanistan: Stand Speak Rise Up!’s advocacy led by Chékéba Hachemi in the media
Public Sénat
At eleven years old, she fled Afghanistan alone to escape the war. As a refugee in France, she has dedicated her life to the empowerment of Afghan women. The first Afghan diplomat, serving at the European Union from 2002 to 2005, she founded “Afghanistan Libre” and the NGO “Stand Speak Rise Up,” which supports survivors of sexual violence in conflict zones. As Afghan women’s freedoms have been shrinking since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, how does she find the strength to keep fighting? Is the worsening situation for Afghan women inevitable? How can we break the silence and the West’s inaction in the face of this tragedy? This week, Rebecca Fitoussi welcomes Chékéba Hachemi on “Un monde, un regard,” an inspiring series of in-depth interviews in a world lacking direction and role models.
Through the association Stand Speak Rise Up!, an advisor to the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg fights for the little freedom Afghan women still have.
Éric Cheysson, a surgeon and president of La Chaîne de l’Espoir, describes the situation as “social femicide.” Chékéba Hachemi, co-founder of the Luxembourg-based association Stand Speak Rise Up!, refers to it as “a form of genocide and a defiance of the West.”
The law enacted on August 22 by the Taliban government to “promote virtue and prevent vice” now governs many aspects of Afghan life under Islamic law, the Sharia. This 87-page, 35-article text is particularly oppressive for women, with its most absurd point being that they no longer have the right to raise their voices.
In Afghanistan, women are now prohibited from raising their voices in public. Three years after their return to power, the Taliban continue to gradually erase, “in the name of Islam,” half of their population, while the other half remains silent. How far will they go? What is life like today in Kabul and beyond? Is there a way out of this prison? We discuss these questions with Chékéba Hachemi and Eric Cheysson.
With a new law, the Taliban are further stifling the rights of Afghan women. Chekeba Hachemi, co-founder of Stand Speak Rise Up!, denounced this new Taliban law on France 2, which represents a new setback for the rights of Afghan women. The situation in Afghanistan is dire
Three years after the Taliban took power, women’s rights in Afghanistan continue to deteriorate. For ELLE, Chékéba Hachemi, president of Afghanistan Libre and co-founder of Stand Speak Rise Up, reacts to the new morality law, which further silences women.
Jerome Bloch highlights the statements of Chékéba Hachemi, co-founder of Stand Speak Rise Up!, on the dire situation of women in Afghanistan.
Stand Speak Rise Up! mobilizes for Afghan women and girls through emergency humanitarian distribution projects and access to maternal and child health care.