“Afghan girls are looking towards world leaders to act immediately and push the Taliban to open girls’ schools. No society can advance if the rights of women and girls are not fully guaranteed."
— M. Rahim Jami
Our work in Afghanistan
Malala Fund has been working with partner organisations in Afghanistan since 2017 to improve Afghan girls’ access to education. Following the Taliban takeover in 2021, many of our Education Champions faced retribution for advocating for girls’ right to learn. We helped our Education Champions and their families evacuate and resettle, and facilitated the safe resettlement of more than 200 additional Afghan human rights defenders.
We launched our Afghanistan Initiative in 2024 to restore girls’ access to education and advance the movement to end gender apartheid. The initiative aims to raise global awareness of gender apartheid and strengthen networks of Afghan women activists and organisations campaigning for the recognition of gender apartheid in international law. Additionally, it supports alternative and digital learning programmes for girls while they are banned from secondary schools.
Where we Work
60%
There are 3.7 million out-of-school children in Afghanistan — 60% are girls. (UNICEF)
Afghanistan
42%
Most girls in rural Bangladesh dropout of school after primary school, with dropout rates at nearly 42 percent. (UNICEF)
Bangladesh
