SOLA: Empowering All

 The young women of Afghanistan continue to amaze the world with their commitment to positive change through education and with peace. Due to extremist regimes, women in Afghanistan are prohibited from living outside “religious” expectations. From clothing to education, women are restricted from making decisions for themselves. Young women are restricted from social interactions and activities, education, self-determination, and more. Their identities are stripped by their government and blamed on their religion. This over-barring government has created a huge sense of political and social unrest causing many to leave the country in hopes of peace. 

Forced to flee their homes, the students of the SOLA found shelter in Rwanda. This change in space, culture, and life is one no one expects to live through but here we are. These young women were simply looking for a chance at education and were shamed, shunned, and attacked for it. As outsiders, we don’t fully grasp the extent of the situation. Women are killed, raped, and abused for simply wanting to think for themselves. The horrors of a woman’s life in Western countries do not compare to the daily lives of these young women. Our lives are beyond privileged and we as a society need to recognize and exploit that.  

Although most people on this planet value education we don’t realize the true impact it has on others. The young women of the School of Leadership Afghanistan are true examples of strong women. They not only value education for themselves but also for those left back home. I envy their courage and commitment and hope to see every single woman in this program prosper. Their work not only impacts their country but the world as a whole. May the world finally see these young women for their minds and efforts not for their past as their past doesn’t define them.