Afghan students and professors are facing new barriers as document verification and email responses have been reportedly suspended by the Taliban’s Ministry of Higher Education — affecting graduations, scholarships, jobs, and future opportunities.
With continued barriers to education, students are looking to foreign schools for support, flexibility, and understanding. Because education is more than paperwork; it is hope and a path toward a better future.
Read the full article here at the link in our profile.
When women in Afghanistan are shut out of most employment opportunities, learning to work and teach online can become a lifeline. Teaching creates a path to income, connection, and purpose, while also increasing access to supportive learning environments for Afghan girls.
Thanks to support from the @abteachers , we are excited to launch How to Teach Online: Engagement and Communication, the fourth course in our “How to Teach Online” series.
This new course aims to help educators design purposeful, inclusive, and connected online learning experiences, building on the foundational knowledge learned in the first three courses. Together, these courses provide educators with a robust toolkit of online teaching skills and strategies to ensure teachers — and their students — are set up for success.
See and share the new course in our Darakht-e Danesh Courses at the link in our profile.
On National Child & Youth Mental Health Day, we’re reminded how important connection is in shaping young people’s wellbeing.
For Afghan girls, the ban on education goes far beyond the classroom. It means losing connection, community, and a sense of belonging.
When a group of Embers in Canada, part of Girl Guides for girls ages 7 and 8, learned about this reality they responded with empathy and action.
They wrote letters in protest and in solidarity, reaching out to Afghan girls with a simple message: we see you, we support you, you are not alone.
See more of their letters on our blog. Link in our profile.
“I thought about my students—will I never speak to them again?”
An Afghan educator shares what it felt like to lose her class, not by choice, but because funding ran out for her program.
For years, she and others have kept teaching going through online and hidden classes. In a place where girls are barred from school, these classes have been one of the only ways to keep learning alive. Between Taliban bans and vanishing aid, many of those schools are struggling to continue.
“We, the women of Afghanistan, have not given up,” she writes. “We have kept the torch of knowledge burning with our own hands.”
Now, she calls on the world to act.
Read the full piece at the link in our bio.
Introducing the top finalists in the Overcoming Adversity category of the Global Schools Prize 2026.
From refugee-led accelerated learning models to schools sustaining education through conflict, funding cuts, and extreme instability, these schools are redefining what is possible when education systems are pushed to their limits.
Meet the finalists:
🇱🇧 Alsama Project: Delivers a radical accelerated curriculum that takes students from illiteracy to university readiness in six years, with WASC-accredited centres providing internationally recognised learning pathways for refugee students.
🇾🇪 Bassmati School: Sustains education through conflict through extended learning time, teacher training systems, and robust safety infrastructure, maintaining 98% attendance during peak airstrikes.
🇰🇪 Light Academy: Transforms crisis into innovation through its LIFE framework, blending curriculum, social-emotional learning, and community engagement to improve attainment and attendance across refugee education settings.
🇺🇸 North East Carolina Preparatory School: Builds a community-rooted model of rural resilience through agricultural STEM learning, inclusive transport systems, and alternative education pathways for vulnerable learners.
🇦🇫 Right to Learn: Delivers large-scale digital education for Afghan girls across multiple countries, combining daily instruction, mentorship, and internationally recognised certification pathways.
Congratulations to these schools redefining education in the face of adversity.
@alsamaproject@bassmatischool@necp_school@righttolearnorg@varkeyfdn@fundacionvarkey #GlobalSchoolsPrize
On International Day of the Midwife, we’re thinking about the critical role midwives play in protecting the health of mothers and newborns.
Women in Afghanistan have been banned from attending medical school to train as doctors and midwives, leaving an entire generation of pregnant mothers at risk.
Our latest Darakht-e Danesh course: Maternal and Child Nutrition, was developed by Dr. Maxime St-Onge and aims to support pregnant Afghan mothers in understanding nutritional needs during critical times of growth and development.
Please share with anyone who can benefit from this free course, offered in multiple languages. Link in our profile.
What difference can one laptop make?
For Yalda, it meant the ability to continue her Computer Science degree, excel in her studies, and build a future she worked incredibly hard to reach.
Read Yalda’s journey and see how your support is changing what’s possible. Link in our profile.
Part 2 of @amnesty_nz ’s ACTivate podcast is out!
In this episode, Lauryn Oates goes deeper into what’s happening inside Afghanistan right now and why the world should be paying attention.
From the rapid expansion of Taliban-run religious schools to the growing barriers facing women and girls, this conversation unpacks what’s at stake and why global action matters.
Listen to the conversation with @amnesty.christchurch at the link in our profile.
At a time when Afghan girls are being told their futures don’t matter, DD Classroom is a reminder that they do.
Right to Learn Afghanistan is honoured that our online secondary school, Darakht-e Danesh (DD) Classroom, is a top 50 finalist for the @theschoolsprize .
DD Classroom was created after girls in Afghanistan were banned from attending school beyond age 12. Started in 2022 with only 25 students, the school has grown to over 700 students.
As students progress through quality education and graduate with an internationally recognised high school diploma, our school becomes more than a school: it is a lifeline. It restores girls’ right to learn, their agency, and their sense of possibility, while also empowering female teachers, supporting families, and building a community rooted in hope and resilience.
Thank you @varkeyfdn for this honor in recognizing the courage of our students, the determination of our school, and the transformative power of education.
Visit the Global Schools Prize webpage to learn more about this prize and our fellow finalists.
What does it take for a girl to keep going to school when she’s been told she can’t?
Join Right to Learn’s Calgary Chapter for an evening of connection, conversation, and community. Hear directly from the team behind Darakht-e Danesh Classroom, our online high school for Afghan girls, along with updates from Afghan Canadian activist Robina Hamdard.
We’ll gather over light bites and refreshments, with a henna artist and the option to have your name handwritten in Farsi on a wooden coaster.
Every ticket helps fund “backpacks” through the Shafia Education Access Program, providing a laptop, internet access, and a scholarship so students can keep learning.
Each ticket includes a $25 tax receipt.
Get your ticket at the link in our profile!
The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute is warning of a global rollback of women and girls’ rights, driven by legal changes, conflict, and shrinking protections worldwide.
From Afghanistan to beyond, these regressions are not isolated. They are connected, and they demand a response.
Governments must act to protect and advance the rights of women and girls everywhere.
Learn more at the link in our bio.
Right to Learn Afghanistan stands with @humanrightswatch in advocating for the codification of gender apartheid as a crime against humanity. The United Nations is calling on countries to provide their input to the draft of the Crimes Against Humanity Articles by April 30th.
We are hopeful that the government of Canada will take the lead and take this important step to protect women and girls around the world.
Learn more about this critical issue at the link in our profile.
