By Dolapo Aina
On Tuesday, August 24, 2021, Ms Shabana Basij-Rasikh who is an Afghan educator, humanitarian and women’s rights advocate and the co-founder and President of SOLA (School of Leadership Afghanistan) announced and in her words; “We completed the departure from Kabul of nearly 250 students, faculty, staff, and family members. Everyone is enroute, by way of Qatar, to the nation of Rwanda where we intend to begin a semester abroad for our entire student body.”
She further clarified that; “SOLA is resettling, but our resettlement is not permanent. A semester abroad is exactly what we’re planning. When circumstances on the ground permit, we hope to return home to Afghanistan. For now, I request privacy for our community.”
With the turmoil, crisis and humanitarian catastrophes ongoing in Afghanistan, Ms Basij-Rasikh stated that “My heart breaks for my country. I’ve stood in Kabul, and I’ve seen the fear, and the anger, and the ferocious bravery of the Afghan people. I look at my students, and I see the faces of the millions of Afghan girls, just like them, who remain behind. Those girls cannot leave, and you cannot look away. If there’s one thing I ask of the world, it is this: do not avert your eyes from Afghanistan. Don’t let your attention wander as the weeks pass. See those girls, and in doing so you will hold those holding power over them to account.”
She went on to state that her commitment to the women and girls of Afghanistan just like her commitment to her SOLA students, is unwavering. They are the fires that will never go out. Ms Shabana Basij-Rasikh also thanked everyone (including the countries of Qatar, Rwanda and America) who made the relocation possible.
According to its website, the School of Leadership, Afghanistan (SOLA) is an Afghan-led private boarding school for girls, the first of its kind in Afghanistan and the only one in Afghanistan. SOLA provides Afghan girls a rigorous education that promotes critical thinking, a sense of purpose, and respect for self and others. The school provides an education to girls (ages eleven to nineteen) across all ethnic backgrounds and helps the girls gain admission and financial aid to universities around the world. It is a known fact that often times, the girls that graduate from SOLA become the first women to get into their fields in the Asian nation of Afghanistan and also grow to become Afghanistan’s new generation of female leaders.
SOLA’s story began in 2008, with four students and a rented house. Officially recognized by Afghanistan’s Ministry of Education; the school has worked with partners around the world to secure overseas scholarships for Afghan girls valued at circa ten million dollars.
The move to Rwanda was an official request from Ms Basij-Rasikh and SOLA; who reached out to the Government of Rwanda, which granted the request.
Dolapo Aina writes from Kigali, Rwanda
