Today is GivingTuesday 

Access to Education is a basic human right.

Today is GivingTuesday, the world’s largest generosity movement where people are encouraged to do good and inspire others to help make a difference in their communities and around the world. It is also a time for us to celebrate and thank all Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan’s donors, members, supporters and volunteers for all the incredible work and support they provide to our programs. THANK YOU! Your generosity is providing life-changing support for women, girls, and families in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan is the only country in the world that bans secondary education for girls. The Taliban regime prohibits girls from attending school past the age of twelve. Further, many women, girls, and their families are internally displaced, and cannot access schools even at the primary level, a problem similarly facing many undocumented Afghans who fled to countries in the region.

At CW4WAfghan, we envision a world where Afghan girls and women are free to pursue education as a basic human right.

Through our programs, we can work to bypass the physical, financial, and political barriers to the right to education that the Taliban has erected, and ensure Afghan women and girls are able to realize their right to education.

We invite you to support our Access to Education campaign, which supports 3 vital CW4WAfghan programs that address the current financial, physical, and political barriers to education facing Afghan women and girls:

DD ACADEMI

Our innovative Darakht-e Danesh (DD) Academi of digital tools and programs allows us to address the physical barrier to education. Since secondary education is prohibited for girls in Afghanistan, we have been focussed on expanding our virtual education resources and tools, as well as providing Afghan educators and learners with internet access cards, so that women and girls who are cut off from their conventional education in Afghanistan can still access learning opportunities. In these times of crisis, these digital learning resources have become invaluable means of providing uninterrupted educational opportunities to Afghan teachers, children, and families. 

The DD Academi is a suite of three virtual education tools that, together, ensure thousands of Afghans can continue to access education:

1. The Darakht-e Danesh digital library (“DD Library”): A curated collection of over 6,000 educational resources
   1. 1. DDL Lite:  The “offline” version of the Darakht-e Danesh Library, installed in places without Internet connectivity
2. DD Courses:  An online course platform of asynchronous open courses, including those from accredited educational institutions, in Afghan languages
3. DD Classroom:  A video app for synchronous teaching and learning, available for teachers and instructors teaching at any level, in Afghanistan or anywhere

SHAFIA FUND

The Shafia/Mohammad Memorial Education Fund for Afghan Women and Girls was established in 2013, in memory of three young sisters (Zainab Shafia, Sahar Shafia, and Geeti Shafia,) and Rona Amir Mohammed, who were murdered on June 30, 2009 in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. 

The Shafia Fund scholarship program allows us to address the financial barrier to education by supporting girls who face challenges affording tuition fees for post-secondary institutions. Afghan women and girls can apply for this fund, and can request assistance to cover their tuition fees, transportation, internet cost, and procuring learning tools such as computers, books, and stationery. 

ADVOCACY

CW4WAfghan is committed to building a robust and vocal solidarity among Canadians and global partners in support of the human right to education for Afghan women and girls. Through our advocacy work we are able to influence systems-level change with the Government of Canada to address the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. CW4WAfghan participates in and advances policy discussions with civil society actors, the Government of Canada, and UN-level agencies. By contributing to global solidarity and advancing the commitment of actors in the international community, we are able to press for the protection of Afghan women and girls’ right to education as a human right. 

We deliver impactful advocacy programming in key areas – coalition building, amplifying the voices and experiences of Afghan women and girls, government relations, media engagement, and developing advocacy tools that have equipped Canadians to speak out.

Be part of the movement to ensure education remains accessible to all Afghan women, girls, and their families. Join us in demonstrating how the collective efforts of Canadians can break down the walls built by totalitarians. CW4WAfghan remains committed to the people of Afghanistan and we will continue to support them in this dark moment for the cause of Afghan democracy, human rights and freedom to pursue education. Together, not only will we navigate through the darkness, we will play a part in overcoming it. Thank you for being with us!