“This is a reminder of the urgent need for all of us to give attention towards girls’ education in Afghanistan.”
Those were the words of Pashtana Durrani, a social and political rights activist and Executive Director of LEARN Afghanistan, while receiving the 2023 Global Citizen Prize: Citizen Award, Afghanistan.
Thrust into the responsibility of caring for her family at the age of 21, following her father’s death, Durrani found her purpose when a cousin of hers was forced out of school due to Taliban restrictions.
“I was like this is my thing, this is my mission. I want to focus on that,” she said to Global Citizen.
Girls’ education and women’s empowerment have faced threats throughout Afghanistan’s turbulent history but with the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, Afghan girls and young women have been banned from continuing their education beyond the sixth grade.
Afghan activist Pashtana Durrani is doing amazing work champion human rights and improving girls' access to education in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
Even before the Taliban takeover in 2021, girls’ education was already facing significant challenges — with just 37% of teenage girls able to read and write, compared to 66% of boys, and with girls accounting for 60% of the 3.7 million children out of school in the country.
Closing that gap, which has significant consequences down the line for women’s empowerment and participation in government, is what Durrani has dedicated her life to — and she is making waves.
Not only has Durrani been named a Global Education Champion by the Malala Fund for her outstanding work to advance Afghan girls’ education, the BBC also nominated her as one of its 100 most influential women in 2021, and she was also included in #Times100Talks in 2022.
Known for her directness and courage, Durrani is a regular commentator on TV and radio and has been the subject of articles and profiles published by platforms including PBS, BBC, Elle, and Der Spiegel.
As a human rights defender, Durrani has had to live in exile since 2021, following the Taliban takeover, to be able to continue her work safely. She continues to provide education for hundreds of girls in Afghanistan despite the current ban on them attending school.
Pashtana Durrani has been awarded the Global Citizen Prize: Citizen Award, Afghanistan for her activism and work to improve girls' access to education in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
Alongside her many other achievements, she’s also a member of the United Nations Girls' Education Initiative’s (UNGEI) Feminist Education Coalition; an Aspen New Voices Fellow; and she received the 2021 Tällberg-SNF-Eliasson Emerging Leader prize.
Durrani was awarded the Global Citizen Prize: Citizen Award, Afghanistan, at the Global Citizen Prize ceremony hosted as part of the 2023 Global Citizen NOW summit — a two-day event that took place in New York City that convened government leaders, private sector executives, grassroots activists, cultural innovators, philanthropic experts, and leading journalists to set a global agenda for action on the most urgent issues facing humanity and the planet.
Receiving her award from former Prime Minister of Norway Erna Solberg and TV host, producer, author, and activist Padma Lakshmi, Pashtana said that, “as a Global Citizen, I am committed to fighting for girls’ education, equality, and human rights and building a sustainable and more inclusive world for future generations.”
Pashtana Durrani has been awarded the Global Citizen Prize: Citizen Award, Afghanistan for her activism and work to improve girls' access to education in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
“I want to dedicate this award to all the Afghan girls, the activists, and the teachers, who are working tirelessly to make a difference in Afghanistan,” she said. “Together, we can all create a world where every person has the opportunity to live a fulfilling and dignified life, and where our planet is healthy and thriving.”
Durrani’s memoir, Last to Eat, Last to Learn, was published in 2022 in Germany and will be published in 2023 in the US and Italy.
She is currently a visiting fellow at Wellesley Centers for Women where she is pursuing research on female education and maternal and newborn health.