Pashtana Durrani
Giving girls access to education
About
Pashtana Durrani is an Afghan human rights activist on a mission to improve the lives of women and girls in Afghanistan through education. She founded LEARN, an online and offline platform that safely provides education and technological training to Afghan girls living in impoverished areas.
Born as a refugee in Pakistan and living in a camp, Pashtana understood the importance of education early on. Her father opened a girls' school in the camp, where both her parents taught and stressed the need for girls' education.
Work
When the Taliban took over in 2021, Pashtana fled to the US, where she continues to educate girls in underground schools in Afghanistan and provides them with the skills needed to earn an income – thus avoiding being trapped in child marriage.
LEARN has supported over 7,000 Afghan women and girls by providing resources, professional training, mentoring, and access to technology. The organization offers classes in various subjects and has developed an app for offline learning, including access to games, books, and videos.