Afghan women who escaped from Taliban

More than 80 Afghan women who escaped from the Taliban to pursue higher education in Oman, now face adjacent exile in Afghanistan, after the wide freeze of Trump administration on foreign aid programs.

Funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), his scholarship was suddenly abolished after the funding freeze ordered by President Donald Trump, when he returned to the office in January.

“It was a heart -breaking,” a student told the BBC, speaking anonymously for fear of rebuke. “Everyone was shocked and crying. We are told that we will be sent back within two weeks.”

Since gaining power about four years ago, the Taliban has imposed a draconian sanctions on women, including restricting them from universities.

The US aid funding enabled thousands of Afghan women to study abroad or continue online education, but many of these programs are now suspended.

The help of the Trump administration has faced legal obstacles, but thousands of humanitarian programs have been abolished or endangered worldwide as the White House attempts billions of billions in government spending.

Students in Oman say that preparations are already running to return them to Afghanistan, and appealed to the international community to “intervene”.

The BBC has seen emails sent to 82 students who inform them that their scholarship has been “closed” due to the end of the program and USAID funding.

Email – Those who accept the news, will be “deeply disappointing and unstable” – refer to the arrangement of travel in Afghanistan, creating an alarm among the students.

The BBC said, “We need immediate security, financial assistance and rehabilitation opportunities for a safe country, where we can continue our education.”

The media contact page of the USAID website is offline. The BBC has approached the US State Department for comment.

Afghan women, who are now facing a forced return from Oman, were chasing undergraduate and postgraduate courses under a USAID program started in 2018, women’s scholarship settlement (WSE).

This provided scholarship to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) for Afghan women, restricted discipline for women by the Taliban.

A week ago, the students were told that their scholarship was over.

Another student told the BBC, “It seems that everything is away from me.” “This was the worst moment. I am still under extreme stress.”

These women were mostly aged in their 20s, worthy of scholarship before the Taliban seized Afghanistan in 2021. Many continued their studies in Afghan universities till December 2022, when the Taliban banned higher education for women.

After 18 months in Limbo, he said that he fled to Pakistan last September.

Usaid then provided its visa to Oman, where they arrived between October and November 2024.

A student said, “If we are sent back, we will face serious consequences. This would mean that all our dreams have to be lost.” “We will not be able to study and our families can force us to marry. Many of us can also be at personal risk due to our previous affiliation and activism.”

The Taliban torn the women protesting for education and work, many activists beaten, detained and threatened.

Women in Afghanistan describe themselves as “dead bodies” roaming “under the cruel policies of governance.

The Taliban government says that it is trying to resolve the issue of women’s education, but has also defended the dicktats of its supreme leader, saying he said “according to Islamic Sharia law”.

A student said, “Afghanistan is experiencing gender apartheid, women are systematically excluded from basic rights including education.”

In Oman, he and his friends managed to escape from that fate, as the scholarship was going to fund his education by 2028.

A student said, “When we came here, our sponsors told us that do not go back to Afghanistan for holidays by 2028 or to visit our families as it is not safe for us. And now they are asking us to go,” a student said.

Last month, White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly blamed the situation for Afghan women on the return of the US Army from the country under Democrats, told Washington Post: “Afghan women are suffering because the disastrous withdrawal of Biden allowed the Taliban to implement the Taliban.”

The decision to reduce American aid funding has come under the Trump Administration, and has been implemented by the Department of Government Efficiency of Elon Musk.

And these women face a serious future, looking for a lifeline before immediate time.

Additional reporting by aakriti thapar