It’s been more than 3 weeks since the Taliban government in Afghanistan announced that women were banned from attending colleges and universities. It’s yet another gut-wrenching — but not unexpected — reversal of the regime’s initial promises to respect women’s rights. The college ban effectively means that the highest level of education most Afghan girls will now be able to receive is 6th grade.

We speak with Shabana Basij-Rasikh, co-founder and president of the School of Leadership, Afghanistan (SOLA), a girls’ boarding school, about Afghan women and girls' determination to continue their educations. SOLA is now based in Rwanda, having moved after the Taliban's rise to power in Afghanistan in 2021.