Our partnership with Sahar

Afghan girls and their families are demanding greater access to education in their war-torn country. Since the removal of the Taliban, millions of children have entered the school system—many for the first time. However, girls are still substantially under-represented among students flooding the Afghanistan education system. This is largely due to early marriage practices; according to recent data from the UN Population Fund, nearly 57% of girls in Afghanistan are married before the legal age of 16. Girls’ schools also continue to be targeted by violent extremists, and there continues to be a stigma against girls’ education in the country where the Taliban very recently outlawed education for girls.

We partnered with Sahar to work towards closing the gender gap and get more girls in school by improving Afghan school capacity, training teachers, improving digital literacy, and implementing early marriage prevention programs. Our partnership supported Sahar’s Early Marriage Prevention Program, an initiative aimed at reducing early marriage rates for girls in Afghanistan through education. Their interventions focused on increasing knowledge and awareness of legal rights of girls and empowering girls to take an active role in decisions related to their education. Additionally, Sahar provided information sessions on physical health and hygiene, mental health and trauma, sexual harassment, human rights, and the importance of education.