From the official “Initiative to Educate Afghan Women” website:
The Initiative was founded three years ago by Paula Nirschel, after she learned how Afghan women were kept hidden and denied education for the seven years of the Taliban’s reign over the country of Afghanistan.
Afghan women receive full four-year scholarships at American universities around the country. They are a very close group of students who, with the director and supporters, are brought together during semester intersessions to tour the US and bond as an organization.
All of the students return home together every summer to work for reconstruction and to help support their families.
The students are chosen for their high academic standards and keen English skills. They are dedicated to returning home after graduation to use their education to improve life for all in Afghanistan.
This WSJ article reports that though supposedly liberal schools like Yale refused to enroll the women, ten schools agreed to participate:
Duke University, N.C.
Juniata College, Pa.
Kennesaw State University, Ga.
Middlebury College, Vt.
Montclair State University, N.J.
Mount Holyoke College, Mass.
Roger Williams University, R.I.
Simmons College, Mass.
University of Montana, Missoula
University of Richmond, Va.
Kudos to them! I will see what I can do to add the University of South Carolina to this list. The same WSJ article notes: “These women require no remedial classes, by the way. They come prepared, many having huddled in basements secretly imbibing what information they could from male relatives or having lived in Pakistani refugee camps to gain access to schools. Not one of them has a GPA below 3.5.”
And remember what President Bush said when he was in Afghanistan in early March: “One of the messages I want to say to the people of Afghanistan is it’s our country’s pleasure and honor to be involved with the future of this country. We like stories of young girls going to school for the first time so they can realize their potential.”
And these stories are even better when they have the added benefit of being true!
–Ann Bartow
