Shafia Fund Scholarship

The Shafia/Mohammad Memorial Education Fund for Afghan Women and Girls was established in memory of three young sisters (Zainab Shafia, age 19, Sahar Shafia, age 17, and Geeti Safia, age 13) and Rona Amir Mohammed, who were all murdered on June 30, 2009 in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

The funds support female education, providing small grants to cover students’ education expenses. Donations to the fund were initially raised by members of the Kingston community as a way to honour the memories of these women, to draw attention to the devastating impact of violence against women, and to leave a modest but positive legacy in the wake of a tragedy. 

Due to the success of this fund, CW4WAfghan adopted the scholarship fund as a permanent program, administered under our Grants program. We welcome donations that support more young women to become Shafia Fund scholars, and pursue their education thanks to this Fund.

Criteria

• The Fund has been established to support Afghan women’s and girls’ access to education.
• Each applicant can apply for this scholarship only once a year.
• Scholarships are up to 47,000 AFN (or its equivalent) to cover tuition fees, books, transportation, laptops, or specialized supplies such as lab materials or tools.
• Scholars study in Afghanistan, and since 2022, in the region, are eligible to apply.
• All applications are carefully reviewed. Shortlisted applicants are contacted for an interview.
• CW4WAfghan collects and verifies documents, and monitors students’ progress.
• Only applications submitted through this Google Form will be reviewed.