They were received at universities in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan thanks to EU-funded scholarships. In Afghanistan the Taliban have imposed bans and restrictions on female students. When they have completed their studies they can return to their country of origin, but many do not want to.
Moscow () – Several Central Asian countries have welcomed a group of young Afghans to study at local universities with scholarships funded by the European Union. It is a way of circumventing the ban imposed in his country by the Taliban. The project had already been launched in 2019 to attract hundreds of young people from Afghanistan to study abroad and return to their country with specialization diplomas. With the revolution that followed the withdrawal of Western troops in the summer of 2021, and the restrictions imposed by Covid-19, the project had become very limited.
A few dozen young people are now spread across Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan; According to the organizers, more than 100 have already started their studies, of which half have received a full scholarship to obtain their diploma in 2025. They are the ones that had already been selected before the arrival of the Taliban in Kabul, and that surpassing many difficulties managed to avoid prohibitions and punishments.
The Kazakh Ministry of Foreign Affairs has played a decisive role in negotiations with all stakeholders, managing to protect the young women and activate the project. The representation of the United Nations Development Fund in Kazakhstan, in charge of managing the project, reported that local universities have received 50 female students. Another 30 are in Uzbekistan and 25 in Kyrgyzstan, with a curriculum until 2027.
The EU has allocated close to 5.5 million dollars to the first and second phases of the academic plan, and it is hoped that subsequent phases can also be activated. To questions from journalists, UN officials explained that “fundamental decisions, including the expansion of the project, are the subject of intensive consultation with donors.”
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said he was not aware of any agreement between Kabul officials and the states hosting the girls or other parties involved in the programme. The issue will be discussed at the end of the government for the entire education sector, and with the security agencies.
If all goes well, the 155 young Afghans will specialize in fields ranging from agriculture to finance, mining and engineering, marketing and computing. The project involved the return of the already qualified students to Afghanistan to work in public utility works. Now job and career prospects for women, with the Taliban in power, look pretty bleak, and it is uncertain how many young women studying in Central Asia will want or be able to return home. Those responsible for the initiative assure that “the final decision on the return to Afghanistan continues to be the prerogative of the young women themselves.”
They will try to help and encourage the graduates to return, but “without any obligation,” say the members of the UN. A 25-year-old from Afghanistan’s Balkh province, Barna Kargar, completed her studies at Almaty Energy University in 2021, the same month the Taliban returned, and until now she has remained in Kazakhstan. She applied for political asylum, but it was denied and she does not have the right to work in the host country. She now says that she is “too scared to go back”, and is trying to appeal the denial of asylum.
The same governments of the host countries are evaluating the status that will be assigned to the students, who despite everything do everything possible to go to study. As Rakhila Jusafzaj, a 23-year-old from Kabul, recounts, “many of us searched the internet for all the possibilities and scholarships available when the Taliban forced us to interrupt our studies…we don’t know what might happen in five or six years, Meanwhile, at least we will be ready to face life with training and a great desire to do something worthwhile”.
