From Kabul to a Classroom again: My Journey Across Borders for Education

By Sahar

When I was twelve years old, I started working as a journalist at Radio Marefat in Afghanistan. I was a part of a special program called Business Journal, where I reported on employment and entrepreneurship. Even at that age, I believed that awareness could create change, and that sharing stories mattered.

After one year in journalism, I realized I wanted to grow beyond reporting. I wanted to develop leadership skills, learn how to communicate effectively, and understand how to solve problems within my community. That is why I joined the Marefat Students’ Council. For four years, I volunteered in different positions, not for recognition, but to build confidence, critical thinking, and the ability to lead with purpose.

In early 2021, when SA TV began operating, I joined as a video editor. I edited commercials, programs, and news videos, and added subtitles for non-Persian films and broadcasts. My work focused on awareness, civil rights, and gender equality—values that were not always welcomed in the traditional society I lived in. Still, I stayed resilient. I believed that one day my generation would live in peace and justice.

On August 15, 2021, everything changed.

When the Taliban took control of the government, it felt like the future disappeared overnight. More than anyone else, women were harmed. Our rights were completely violated. I lost my job, my right to education, and my sense of purpose. For a long time, I did not want to wake up in the morning. I felt lost. I felt frustrated. Freedom—something I had always dreamed of—felt impossibly far away.

But staying silent and hidden inside the house did not help me heal or move forward.

I knew that education was the only weapon strong enough to fight back against injustice. Without any scout or external support, I applied for scholarships abroad on my own. In early 2022, I traveled to Bangladesh on a student visa and completed my pre-undergraduate studies at Asian University for Women. That experience gave me hope again. It reminded me that my dreams still mattered, even after everything I had lost.

Today, I am in the United States, studying Accounting and Finance at the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. My journey has not been easy, but it has always been guided by purpose.

Women’s rights have long been my passion. During high school, I volunteered with social change organizations in Kabul. In 2020, I joined the Women’s Generation of Change Organization, where I helped organize literacy classes and development programs to support Afghan women’s independence. In 2023, I was selected as a United Nations Millennium Fellow. Through this role, I led a project focused on helping Afghan girls build independent learning skills and overcome gender-based barriers to education.

I acheived these goals on my own, I navigated this journey myself. Every application, every step, every risk was mine to take. After arriving in the United States on a student visa, I later joined the Afghan Scouts Relief Fund, where I continue to grow, learn, and advocate.

My story is not only about survival. It is about choosing education when everything else was taken away. It is about refusing to disappear. And it is about believing that even in the darkest moments, learning can still create light.

None of this would have been possible without the generosity of donors like you.

Your support gives our students the chance to step back into a classroom, step into a lab, and step into their futures.

If you want to help more students like me reclaim their education and chase their dreams, please consider donating today. 

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