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Hard to Believe: One Girl's Story — and Why It's Ours to Care About Hard to believe. Those three words keep coming up as I think about what is happening to girls in Afghanistan right now. Hard to believe that in my lifetime, a girl could be told that her education ends at the primary school level, not because she lacks intelligence, drive, or dreams, but simply because of who she is. Hard to believe that somewhere right now, a girl who imagined herself as a doctor, a teacher,

I first set foot in Afghanistan in December, 2008. Traveling from Kabul airport in an embassy car, I felt as if I’d been transported back in time. The dusty streets were bustling with life: donkeys carrying fresh vegetables, men in traditional shalwar kameez going about their day, and women in blue burkas navigating the markets. It was the year 1385 in the lunar Hijri calendar, and everything around me seemed timeless and enduring. Then I began to meet the people, and from

by Hassina Sherjan Community Voices Fellow Hassina Sherjan shares the most important lesson she’s ever learned in her quest for Afghanistan’s future. When my father was on his deathbed, he said to me, “Live as you want to because I didn’t.” I was shocked. All my cultural, familial, and educational conditioning up to that point had taught me the opposite: to do what was expected of me. After my father’s passing, I committed myself to search for what I really wanted to do in t

Author: Hassina Sherjan From 2001 to 2021: After the overthrow of the Taliban, by the United States, in 2001, all the schools reopened...

by Hassina Sherjan Words have the power to connect, divide, uplift, or discourage. That’s why the terms we use can have lasting impacts...

by Hassina Sherjan After international aid left Afghanistan’s education system unchanged, GlobalGiving Community Voices fellow Hassina...

By Hassina Sherjan We found him on the streets selling chewing gum. Ali’s (not his real name) story is one of hardship and resilience....

By Hassina Sherjan Education is an essential part of a healthy society. It provides the tools for individuals to reach their potential,...

By Miranda Cleland Salma’s husband was killed in a suicide bombing. Najia’s uncle trapped her in the house starting from a young age,...

By Miranda Cleland Do you remember learning how to read? You were probably about 5 years old, right? In the developed world, nearly...

By Miranda Cleland Freshtah is not a typical sixth-grade student. She is a 27-year-old Afghan woman, once a child bride who lost an eye...

By Miranda Cleland 22% of the world’s population this month aren’t eating or drinking anything- not even water- for an average of 16...