Help Educate Women & Girls in Afghanistan

Dear Friends, Family, and Supporters,

In this edition of our newsletter, we have some truly exciting updates and news to share with you. 

Program Updates:

We are thrilled to share that a group of 20 remarkable Afghan girls have completed our six-month women's empowerment program with flying colors! 

"My goal is to acquire extensive knowledge and turn my dreams and aspirations into reality, which includes living a safe life with my family, far from the ravages of war and poverty. To me, freedom means the ability to live without fear, violence, or stress, and for women, it means being able to share their thoughts without fear of being misunderstood or ignored. I aspire to be a girl who can make decisions for herself and be recognized as a rare gem and a source of pride for her family, society, and country."

Afghan women are still fighting and struggling to find their place in society:

It has been 528 days since girls were banned from education and 68 days since women were prohibited from employment, which has had a profound impact not only on their lives but also on the economy of the country. Many families in Afghanistan struggle to make ends meet due to a lack of job opportunities, and the situation has also taken a toll on the mental health of female teachers who lost their jobs. Our goal with this workshop was to build the participants' confidence, instill hope, and empower them to stand up for themselves and become leaders in their communities. Our trainers did an exceptional job delivering the program, including computer classes, and working closely with the students and their families.

How do we make this possible?

What makes our work successful is our partnership with grassroots organizations on the ground, which allows us to support their ideas and provide opportunities for them to empower themselves and their communities. We believe that education, particularly for women and youth, is the key to bringing about fundamental change in a country. None of this would be possible without our dedicated team on the ground, who are highly motivated to effect change and educate women in their communities."

Women's Empowerment Program: 

A famous Persian quote says, "A river is made drop by drop." Today, we are proud to have graduated twenty young girls (grades 7-12) from our Women Empowerment Program. They have received their certificates, marking a significant achievement, especially given the current government's restrictions on women's education. These Afghan women were previously banned from attending school or any other educational institution. However, through working with our partner in Mazar-e-sharif, we were able to make a difference in their lives by creating a safe learning space and educating them. 

This six-month Women's Empowerment Workshop was a life-changing experience for the participants. They gained valuable knowledge about women's rights and leadership, as well as women's health topics such as reproductive health, menstruation, and hygiene. Additionally, they improved their English language skills and skills in technology and computer literacy, which will enable them to pursue job opportunities or participate in online classes in the future. We are preparing to start the second round of the program soon.         

Dear Friends of Sahar,

It has been a trying and difficult year for the people of Afghanistan and for those of us who hoped and worked for a peaceful and more stable Afghanistan. The financial, political, and social well-being of Afghans has declined drastically since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan last year. Women and girls have borne the brunt of oppression and poverty. We acknowledge and commend the bravery they show in loud, continued protests and in quiet daily struggles to help their families survive. 

Inspired by the girls and women of Afghanistan, SAHAR has doubled down on our mission to educate and empower. We are immensely grateful for your support that has enabled us to fund and support three different programs for Afghan girls. We are so grateful to be able to share our program updates with you. 

English, Digital literacy and Women’s Empowerment & Health Program

"I am one of the students of the women empowerment workshop. This program is an excellent opportunity for us, especially for Afghan women living under the Taliban government. The Women Empowerment workshop is introducing new topics about our rights; the topics are awakening and essential for us to learn. It’s our responsibility to share the information and what we learn from this workshop with our family and friends. We also communicate with other women outside of this program. We learned so much from the program."   shares Nadia* one of our students from Mazar-i-Sharif. 

In partnership with a private school in Mazar-i-Sharif, our 20 program participants are learning English and computer skills and becoming more aware their rights and health. Students were recruited from public schools and have limited English and computer abilities.

Our girsl are now familiar with computer components; such as the different features of windows, creating folders, arranging icons, and storing and organizing data on computer. In MS word, they learned about the program's tabs. Students can now create tables in a word document; they can insert charts, pictures, shapes, header, footer, and more. Students are also able to create their Word documents and set up the printer to print them out. Students are now learning Excel sheets and running formulas on Excel.

Sewing, Literacy and Women’s Empowerment & Health program

In partnership with Afghanistan Relief Organization in Kabul, our 20 students are learning and practicing literacy and sewing skills along with topics related to women’s empowerment, mental health, reproductive health and menstrual hygiene. SAHAR provides Afghanistan Relief Organization, with the curriculum for women’s empowerment and health workshops, training on delivering the material, project management support and funding for the program. 

Our students have improved their reading and writing skills since the workshop started. Students can now read the text from their Dari book fluently and write dictation. Students' math skills have improved as well. They are now learning to multiply and divide numbers.

Last quarter, our Women empowerment & health workshop focused on menstrual hygiene and pregnancy. Talking about menstruation remains one of the social taboos in Afghanistan's traditional society leading to misinformation about periods. Women and girls believe in myths regarding periods, for example, not taking frequent showers during periods. This workshop focused on addressing the misconceptions and  encouraged women to educate their daughters and sisters on this topic. Similarly, students got to learn about pregnancy, complications of pregnancy, pregnancy precautions, medical care during pregnancy and miscarriage. 

Mobile Schools

Our two mobile schools provide basic literacy skills for around 500 nomadic boys and girls who have not had the opportunity to get an education prior to this effort. The nomadic families move from one village to another throughout the year and the mobile schools travel with them, assuring that the students have access to education. Sahar is supporting this program by funding the curriculum and school operations. We also provide program management and oversight support for the mobile schools. 

As the school year comes to an end, our moblile school students are finishing up their final exams. We are happy to see our students promote to the next grade and we plan to continue the program on the management side.

It has been rewarding to watch our girls  improve their self-confidence and become aware of their rights. SAHAR has provided opportunities for students to express their needs and learn how to help themselves and other women in their community. We COULD NOT have done this without you. Thank YOU for making a difference in the lives of Afghans girls today!

* The student's name was changed to protect her identity.