Afghan Women Turn to Online Learning as Taliban Bans Their Education

Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021, life for Afghan women has grown increasingly restricted. Among the harshest measures is the ban on education for girls beyond primary school—a devastating blow for young women like Sodaba, a 24-year-old pharmacology student.

With schools closed, Sodaba found hope online. She enrolled in a free computer coding course taught in Dari, her native language, by an Afghan refugee living in Greece. “I believe a person should not be bowed by circumstance but should pursue their dreams through every possible way,” she said.

The course is offered by Afghan Geeks, founded by 25-year-old Murtaza Jafari, who fled Afghanistan as a teenager and learned coding while struggling to adapt in Greece. Grateful for the help he received, Jafari began offering free online courses to Afghan women in December 2024. Today, 28 female students learn programming at beginner to advanced levels, with some joining Jafari’s team to work on projects for clients around the world.

Jafari respects his students’ privacy—never asking them to reveal their faces or personal details—understanding the dangers they face under the Taliban’s strict rules, which even ban women’s voices and uncovered faces in public.

Meanwhile, another Afghan woman, Zuhal, 20, launched Vision Online University with a small team to provide free education for girls barred from formal schools. The academy now has over 4,000 students and 150 volunteer teachers, offering courses from psychology to Quranic studies.

Despite challenges such as lack of funding and unreliable internet, Zuhal remains determined. “If I stop, thousands of girls will be left in despair again,” she said.

In a country where most professions are now off-limits to women, online education and remote work offer a vital lifeline—empowering Afghan women to build skills and hope beyond the Taliban’s restrictions.