Empowering Girls’ Education in Afghanistan’s Most Restricted Provinces
Pohana Fund supports safe, discreet, and community-based education for girls in the most restricted and heavily monitored provinces of Afghanistan. From Grade 1 to Grade 12, we ensure that learning continues quietly, safely, and with dignity — even in the most difficult environments.
🎓About Us
Girls’ Education Where It Is Most Denied
Pohana Fund currently operates 65 home-based and community girls’ classes across nine of Afghanistan’s most conservative and high-risk provinces:
Helmand, Zabul, Uruzgan, Kandahar, Paktia, Paktika, Khost, Logar, and Nimroz.
These areas are not challenging because of culture. They are challenging due to heavy monitoring and strict ideological restrictions that prevent girls from accessing education.
Despite these pressures, our teachers and community partners continue to provide safe and trusted learning spaces.
🎓Our Mission
Afghan girls have been erased from public classrooms, yet they have not lost their determination to learn. In the most restricted and heavily monitored provinces of Afghanistan, thousands of girls remain eager for knowledge, growth, and opportunity.
Pohana Fund exists to ensure that their education continues — quietly, safely, and with dignity — even in the most difficult and dangerous areas of the country.
Our mission is not only to provide access to learning, but to protect hope in places where opportunity has been denied. We work directly with families, community elders, and trusted female teachers to create safe, discreet home-based classrooms that allow girls to continue their education from Grade 1 to Grade 12.
We believe that education is not a privilege reserved for stability — it is a fundamental right that must be protected especially during instability.
Across Helmand, Zabul, Uruzgan, Kandahar, Paktia, Paktika, Khost, Logar, and Nimroz, communities themselves have stepped forward to safeguard their daughters’ futures. Our mission is to stand beside them, strengthen their efforts, and ensure that learning never stops.
We are committed to:
- Sustaining secret and community-based schools in high-risk environments
- Expanding access to digital and distance learning opportunities
- Equipping girls with academic knowledge and digital literacy skills
- Supporting local female educators who courageously teach despite restrictions
- Preserving the dignity, resilience, and potential of Afghan girls
Home-Based Schools in Afghanistan After 2021
Since 2021, restrictions on girls’ education have intensified nationwide. In response, Pohana Fund expanded its network of discreet home-based and community classrooms to ensure continuity of education. Today, our schools operate quietly across nine provinces, sustained by trusted local networks and community protection.
Secret Home-Based English and Computer Classes Since 2021
In addition to core academic subjects, Pohana Fund has provided secret English language and computer classes since 2021. These programs equip girls with: English communication skills, Basic computer literacy, Typing and digital knowledge, Online safety awareness. Digital education ensures that Afghan girls remain connected to global knowledge and opportunities.
🎓Work in Extremely Sensitive and High-Risk Areas
Among the 65 classes we operate, several are located in districts with exceptional levels of restriction, ideological pressure, and continuous monitoring. These are some of the most difficult places in Afghanistan for girls to access any form of learning — yet community support remains unwavering.
Zabul Province
We operate two secret home-based girls’ classes only a few kilometers from the area where Mullah Omar, the founding Taliban leader, is buried. The courage of our teachers and the determination of parents and students who continue learning despite the risks is extraordinary.
Daman District, Kandahar Province
We operate three girls’ classes in communities located near the large military madrasa built by Mullah Hibatullah, the current Taliban leader. Despite these risks, local families continue to protect and support our discreet classrooms so their daughters can continue learning in safety. These examples make one point undeniable: Afghan parents want education for their daughters, even in the most restrictive and high-risk environments.
🎓Banning Girls’ Education Is NOT Afghan Culture
Our experience across nine provinces has made one point absolutely clear:
The ban on girls’ education is not part of Afghan culture — it is an ideological policy.
In every community where we operate, parents consistently express a deep desire for their daughters to learn. Families help secure safe spaces, protect classrooms, and ensure girls can attend without fear.
Afghan society values girls’ education whenever it is made possible and safe.
The resilience and success of our community-supported schools — even in the most conservative regions — underscore that the current bans do not reflect Afghan traditions, Afghan family values, or the wishes of ordinary Afghan people.
🎓Our Work
Educational Model
Underground & Community-Based Schools
Secret, trusted home-based classrooms
Local community female teachers
Protective community networks
Flexible schedules to avoid detection
These discreet schools operate with the support of families, elders, and trusted local partners.
Digital & Distance Learning
To reduce risk and expand reach, we provide:
Full Grades 1–12 curriculum in Dari and Pashto
Educational videos, exercises, and structured lessons
Materials that function with low or limited connectivity
This ensures that learning continues even during heightened restrictions.
Digital Literacy Training
Girls receive training in:
Basic IT skills
Typing and productivity tools
Online safety
Modern educational technology
Digital literacy prepares students for long-term independence.
🎓Sustaining and Expanding Our Secret Schools
Despite the risks and challenges, all of Pohana Fund’s secret and community-based schools are currently sustained entirely through personal income and voluntary efforts.
Communities across multiple provinces have approached us with readiness to open additional home-based girls’ schools in their own homes and villages.
In many provinces, families, elders, and local women have already identified safe spaces and expressed strong willingness to begin classes immediately.
The only barrier is financial support.
🎓IMPACT
Impact So Far
Since 2021, Pohana Fund has:
- Reached over 3,500 students
- Provided free learning materials in Dari and Pashto
- Built a trusted network of teachers and volunteers across nine provinces
- Enabled girls to learn through home-based, digital, offline, and broadcast formats
- Maintained operations in some of the most restricted regions where girls would otherwise have no access at all
Our schools survive not because conditions are permissive — but because communities themselves refuse to let their girls be left without a future.
🎓Contact Us
We welcome partnerships, supporters, and collaborators who believe in protecting girls’ education in Afghanistan. For security reasons, detailed operational information and specific locations are not publicly disclosed.
