A Girl With An Unfinished Dream Of University

by Tamana*

August 15, 2025

My name is Tamana. I am 23 years old and from Kabul, Afghanistan. I have always had a deep passion ❤️ for completing my education and fulfilling my dream of becoming a doctor 👩‍⚕️. I graduated from high school in 2020. My school years were extremely difficult. Studying in Afghanistan is like climbing a mountain ⛰️ — very hard due to economic, political, and security challenges.

In 2021, I took the national Kankor university entrance exam and was accepted into Kabul University of Education. Unfortunately, after studying there for some time, all universities were shut down in early 2023 🚫. My education was left incomplete. Later, the Taliban allowed only medical-related fields like midwifery in private institutions, while government universities remained closed for girls. Despite financial hardship 💔, my family supported my decision to study midwifery at a private institute in Kabul.

I continued my education there, but just two semesters before graduation, when I was about to receive my diploma 🎓 and start working in hospitals, they shut down even the private universities. This left me heartbroken 💔 and deeply affected. I had worked hard in two universities, and now both were cut short.

In 2025, this current year, I began studying English. But again, even language courses were not spared 📚. We experience days where we are forced to stand up and leave our classrooms, teachers are beaten simply for teaching girls, and the courses are shut down. On July 15, 2025, the Taliban began arresting girls on the streets 🚔, even those who wear full hijab. Girls can no longer safely leave the house 🏠, even with their parents. We are truly exhausted by the current situation.

Even girls who were accepted into scholarships abroad in 2024 were not allowed to leave the country ✈️. Most of them had to travel to Pakistan or Iran with tourist visas and then continue their scholarship from there. The space for girls’ education has become incredibly narrow. The Taliban are the main enemy of Afghan women. “Hijab” is just an excuse. In the university where I studied midwifery, all girls wore hijab, even burqas, yet they still closed the institution. They do not want girls to progress.

Afghan girls have become prisoners of the Taliban’s oppressive policies ⛓️. I pray 🙏 for the day when women in Afghanistan regain their freedom and emerge from this dark and hopeless situation. Women in Afghanistan are currently denied the right to education, employment, and even basic freedom. Many young girls have lost their motivation and are suffering from depression 😔. On top of that, some Afghan families also oppress their daughters with harsh restrictions, adding to the emotional pressure they already face.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* it is a pseudonym.