One of the most important and long-lasting ways we support women in Afghanistan is by funding their education.
We provide scholarships for women studying to be doctors, midwives and dentists. And we also sponsor young women studying law, economics or business studies. The women have had to overcome many hardships to get to university and continue to face difficulties while studying.
137 women studying medicine, midwifery and nursing are being sponsored by the Linda Norgrove Foundation.
New scholarships for 2022
Despite the difficulties faced by women who want to study, in April 2022 we offered scholarships to 36 women for their medical studies in the spring semester – 25 study at Kateb University, with the other 11 at Khatam University, both in Kabul.
We received around 500 applications for scholarships, a remarkable sign of women’s determination to continue their education. Applicants are shortlisted according to their academic ability and their financial circumstances, and the final numbers selected are also determined by the number of university places available.
We will also be awarding scholarships for women looking to start their studies in the autumn.
Read Lorna Norgrove’s blog on the courage shown by Afghan women to continue studying.
Shukria was three quarters of the way through her medical degree when the Taliban took over.
Her father had supported her studies but the government no longer pays his work pension. Two years ago, his house in their home province of Helmand was destroyed in fighting.
She works part-time in a hospital as a nursing assistant but her pay is not enough to cover her living costs and fees. The LNF scholarship will allow her to complete her studies.
Rohina had finished a year of medical studies. Her mother, a widow, worked as a cleaner to pay for Rohina’s studies but when the Taliban took over she lost her job.
If Rohina hadn’t been awarded a scholarship she would not have been able to continue at university.
Disruption of studies
During the first half of 2021, studies were disrupted many times when the Covid pandemic closed the universities. Courses were run online but not all our sponsored students had or could afford laptops or internet connection.
Since the Taliban took over the country, private universities and colleges have stayed open although men and women have to be segregated. Government universities have reopened, but secondary schools have been closed to girls across Afghanistan.
The Taliban have closed women’s dormitories, forcing the women into shared private flats and houses. Many of our students were supporting themselves by teaching and tutoring part-time. That work has now disappeared and, to add to their hardship, food prices have doubled. We are now providing living allowances to support the students in this rapidly changed situation.