KABUL: One after the other, the opportunities vanished. Like so many other Afghan women, Sodaba could do little but watch as her country\u2019s new Taliban government imposed a stranglehold on women\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n
The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021, and quickly set about implementing a dizzying array of restrictions for women: No visiting parks or gyms, no eating in restaurants, no working, except in very few professions.<\/p>\n
But one of the cruelest blows for the pharmacology student was the ban on education beyond primary school.<\/p>\n
Pushed by necessity, she went online. And there, she found hope: a free computer coding course for women in Afghanistan. Taught in her own language, Dari, by a young Afghan refugee living half a world away, in Greece.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe a person should not be (bowed) by circumstance, but should grow and get their dreams through every possible way,\u201d Sodaba said. She began learning computer programming and website development.<\/p>\n
The new skills \u201chelped me regain my confidence and clarity in my direction,\u201d said the 24-year-old, who asked to be identified by her first name only for safety reasons due to the education ban. \u201cI am so happy to be part of this journey.\u201d<\/p>\n
The courses are part of Afghan Geeks, a company created by Murtaza Jafari, now 25, who arrived in Greece on a boat from Turkiye years ago as a teenage refugee.<\/p>\n
\u2018I had no idea \u2026 Like zero zero\u2019<\/p>\n
While living in a shelter in Athens after he arrived, Jafari received help from a teacher to enroll in a computer coding course. He knew nothing about computers \u2014 not even how to switch one on \u2014 didn\u2019t know what coding was and didn\u2019t speak a word of English, essential for computer programming.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had no idea about English. No idea, like zero zero,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I was trying at the same time to learn Greek, learn English and then also learn computer. \u2026 It was super difficult for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
But several months later, he earned his certificate.<\/p>\n
Coding opened up a new world. A couple of years ago, he set up Afghan Geeks.<\/p>\n
Paying it forward<\/p>\n
Jafari said he started providing online courses last December to help women in his homeland, and as an expression of gratitude for the help he received as a youngster alone in a foreign country.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe main goal was to give back to the community, especially to the Afghan women, what I had received from the other people for free,\u201d he said, sitting in his sparse one-room flat in downtown Athens.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think \u2026 sharing knowledge is what makes a real difference to someone,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd if I share it, it just goes and expands, and then there\u2019s more people to learn things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jafari now has 28 female students in Afghanistan in three classes: beginner, intermediate and advanced.<\/p>\n
Aside from teaching, he also mentors his students in finding online internships and jobs using their new skills. For women in a country where nearly all professions are banned, the opportunity for online work is a lifeline.<\/p>\n
The most qualified join his team at Afghan Geeks, which also offers website development and chatbot creation services. He now has several clients, he said, from Afghanistan, the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose clients were happy that they are contributing in a meaningful goal. So the goal was to support women. \u2026 And that\u2019s why they keep coming back for other projects that they have,\u201d Jafari said.<\/p>\n
Although he\u2019s been teaching his students for seven months, Jafari has never seen their faces. He asks how they are and what the situation is in Afghanistan, \u201cbut I\u2019ve never asked them to open their cameras or to share their profile, to share the image. I\u2019ve never done that. I don\u2019t want to do it, because I respect their culture, their choice.\u201d<\/p>\n
The online academy<\/p>\n
With the Taliban government\u2019s restrictions increasingly confining women to their homes, and going as far as officially banning women\u2019s voices and bare faces in public, the web has opened a new world of possibilities for women in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n
A year and a half ago, Zuhal, a young Afghan woman whose dream of going to university was shattered, partnered with a university professor to launch an online academy for women.<\/p>\n
What began as a team of five people now has a crew of 150 teachers and administrators, and more than 4,000 students, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are all working voluntarily with no salary, no support,\u201d said the 20-year-old, who uses a nickname for fear of reprisals after receiving threats over the academy. \u201cOur only aim or goal is to provide free education for girls and to enhance research in Afghanistan.\u201d<\/p>\n
The academy, Vision Online University, now runs courses in a range of subjects, from psychology and foreign languages to Qur\u2019anic studies, nursing and public speaking, among others.<\/p>\n
When the education ban came into effect, \u201cI was depressed because nothing was available. There was no school, no university, no courses. And that really affected me,\u201d said Zuhal.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen I thought (to) myself that this is not the solution. If I get depressed, that will not be helpful, not for me and not for other girls.\u201d She decided \u201cthat I shouldn\u2019t give up. I should do something for girls of my country.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now she also pursues a degree in computer science through an American online university, the University of the People.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s tough, she said. With no funding, the academy for women can\u2019t pay for premium online services that allow large group meetings. She herself often struggles to afford her Internet service.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I\u2019m doing it because I have a goal,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd my goal is to support girls. If I stop it, more than 4,000 or 5,000 girls will be depressed again.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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