Tracking Women’s Rights in Afghanistan: A Timeline
Shortly after seizing power on August 15, 2021, the Taliban announced, “We are going to allow women to study and work within our framework. Women are going to be very active in our society.”1 But over the following two years, they failed to deliver on this and numerous other promises. In fact, they proactively instituted […]
Afghans Hold On to Hope and Ask the World to Do the Same
By Molly Shapiro When the United States withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021 and the Taliban took over, one of the biggest questions was whether women and girls would lose their hard-fought rights—from freedom of movement to education to career opportunities. Tragically, that question was answered quickly, when the Taliban began issuing a rapid succession […]
Pakistan: From CAI Graduate to CAI Teacher
By Shahzadi Imrana Jalil, Moawin Foundation When Ayub was a boy living in Haiderabad, a remote village in the mountainous Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan, he attended a primary school supported by CAI. Back then, the Haideria Central Asia Supporting School had no actual building, no walls, and no washrooms. While it lacked the basic infrastructure […]
Be a Force for Education
By Marianne Monoc Imagine a world in which women and girls have the education and skills to unlock their full potential and contribute to a better, brighter future for themselves—and for their family, community, and country. Central Asia Institute believes in the transformational power of girls’ education to overcome many of society’s greatest challenges, whether […]
Ramadan Mubarak 2023
During Ramadan 2023, Central Asia Institute partners, staff, and program participants shared their reflections on the holiday. From finding strength in fasting to putting more passion into work, their reflections carried messages of faith, peace, joy and togetherness. Eid Mubarak, from everyone at Central Asia Institute!
The promise of an education
For eight-year-old Gul Naz, the thawing of winter in her remote Afghan village meant more than just warmer days ahead—it meant a new adventure! Gul Naz was delighted to learn that she had been promoted to the second grade and would begin her studies following the winter break. The teacher at her community-based school, Mrs. […]
Afghanistan Update: Making Education Possible – One Girl at a Time
The news stories from Afghanistan continue to be grim. Growing poverty and hunger. Increasing repression of women and girls. A devastating earthquake. What you may not be reading in the news, however, are the important gains that are being made; gains that wouldn’t be possible without the enormous courage of ordinary Afghans, the tireless work […]
Fighting the odds: new programs keep education alive for Afghan girls
Take a moment and imagine what it’s like to be a girl or young woman living in Afghanistan today… Even before the Taliban took control of your country last summer, the odds of learning to read or pursuing a career were stacked against you. Assuming you are one of the millions of girls who live […]
Women’s education and CAI programming: What does the future hold?
In the past several months, many of you have contacted us to ask pressing questions. What’s the latest news from Afghanistan? What is the situation regarding Afghan girls’ education and Afghan women’s right to work? How have recent events impacted schools and students supported by Central Asia Institute? Will Central Asia Institute continue to work […]
Your Dollars at Work in Afghanistan
It’s been nearly four months since the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, and the Afghan people continue to face incomprehensible hardship and an uncertain future. With your support, we are lending a helping hand in this time of tremendous need. We’ve begun distributing emergency assistance to 300 displaced families – primarily women and children – forced […]
Meet one of the 81 teachers you helped last year
When Umeed Primary School in remote Pakistan ran into financial difficulty, Ghulam Nabi continued teaching. For nearly a year, he worked without pay. Thanks to your support on Giving Tuesday last year, CAI was able to step in and reinstate Ghulam’s salary. Giving Tuesday is a national day of charitable giving celebrated on the Tuesday […]
Together, we turned Giving Tuesday into Teacher Tuesday
When Umeed Primary School in remote Pakistan ran into financial difficulty, Ghulam Nabi continued teaching. For nearly a year, he worked without pay. On Giving Tuesday 2020, Central Asia Institute seized on this national day of charitable giving to draw attention to the extreme hardship that Ghulam and so many other teachers living in mountainous, […]
Executive Statement: 9/11 – 20 Years Later
Mourning what we lost, remembering what we gained This Saturday, September 11, 2021, America will commemorate those who lost their lives 20 years ago during a series of terrorist attacks on the United States. This year, the pain will be particularly acute when coupled with the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the resurgence of the […]
Update-Attack on Hamid Karzai International Airport
Central Asia Institute’s Statement on the Attack on Hamid Karzai International Airport in Afghanistan Central Asia Institute is deeply shocked and saddened by the monstrous and unconscionable attack earlier today on the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. We wish to express our sincerest sympathies for the families of U.S. service members and Afghan nationals […]
[Urgent] Taliban seize control of Kabul
And solidify control of the country Along with so many people around the world, CAI’s staff and board are deeply distraught by the unfolding crisis in Afghanistan and gravely concerned for the safety of the Afghan people. The collapse of the Afghan government and the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul over the last 24 hours have […]