Over 80 Afghan women, who fled the Taliban to pursue higher education in Oman, are now at risk of deportation after significant cuts to U.S. foreign aid programs. These women had been studying under the Women’s Scholarship Endowment (WSE), a USAID initiative launched in 2018 that allowed them to study STEM fields—disciplines banned to women by the Taliban.
The scholarships, however, have been frozen following the Trump Administration’s decision to reduce foreign aid, leaving these students in a state of distress. “It was heartbreaking,” one student said anonymously, fearing repercussions.
“We were told we would be sent back within two weeks.”
Since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan in August 2021, they have imposed severe restrictions on women’s rights, especially regarding education and public life. These measures include an outright ban on women showing their faces in public.
The women, who are currently studying in Oman, have been informed that preparations are underway for their return to Afghanistan. They are urgently appealing to the international community for help.
“If they send us back, we will face serious consequences,” one student said. “We will lose all our dreams. We won’t be able to study, and our families may force us into marriage. Some of us are also at risk due to our past activism.”
The Taliban has been cracking down on women’s rights activists, arresting and threatening many who have protested for education and work rights. One student described life under the regime, saying, “Women in Afghanistan are like ‘moving corpses’ under the brutal policies.”
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