School of Leadership Afghanistan or SOLA is an all-girls boarding school in Kabul, Afghanistan. It was founded by Shabana Basij-Rasikh.[1][2] It is the first boarding school for girls in Afghanistan.[3]
After the Afghan government fell and the Taliban seized control in 2021, Shabana Basij-Rasikh destroyed the records of her students to avoid the Taliban from getting them.[4][5]
Shabana Basij-Rasikh stated
“As the founder of the only all-girls boarding school in Afghanistan, I’m burning my students’ records not to erase them, but to protect them and their families. I’m making this statement to mainly reassure the families of our students whose records we burned and our supporters of our safety,”[6]
On 24 August 2021 it was announced that the school had temporarily relocated to Rwanda in the previous week, with 250 students and staff.[7][8][9]
References
edit- ^ Coughlan, Sean (23 March 2014). "From secret school to Afghanistan's future". BBC News. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ Daugherty, Susan (December 10, 2014). "A Native Daughter Returns to Afghanistan on Daring Mission: Educating Girls". National Geographic. Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
- ^ Smith, Casey (June 19, 2017). "Inside the Afghan School Where Girls Can Dress Like Girls". National Geographic. Archived from the original on August 24, 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
- ^ Sohini Goswam (22 August 2021). "Co-founder of all-girls Afghan school burns her students' records amid dread". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ Dorothy Wickenden (19 July 2021). "Afghanistan's Only All-Girls Boarding School Fears the Return of the Taliban". The New Yorker. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ "Founder of all-girls school in Afghanistan burns records to shield students from Taliban". India Today. 22 August 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ Princewill, Nimi; Feleke, Bethlehem; Busari, Stephanie (August 25, 2021). "All students, staff at Afghanistan's only girls' boarding school flee to Rwanda". CNN. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
- ^ "August 24: An update from Shabana". SOLA. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
- ^ McVeigh, Karen (25 August 2021). "'Don't avert your eyes': Afghan teachers urge world to defend girls' education". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
External links
edit- SOLA School of Leadership Afghanistan Official Website
- Opinion: I founded a girls’ school in Afghanistan. Don’t let our stories disappear as they have before. (Shabana Basij-Rasikh, Washington Post, Sept. 1, 2021)