While the Taliban have kept schools closed to girls above the sixth grade, an online school called “SOLAx” has created a path to education for thousands of students — especially girls.
The school offers Afghanistan’s curriculum for grades one through eight free of charge. SOLAx administrators told Deeyar TV that the platform launched in spring 2024 and has since registered more than 22,000 students.
Its courses are accessible to Afghan girls worldwide in Persian, Pashto, and English.
Shabana Basij Rasikh, founder of the SOLA school initiative, told Deeyar: “This is only the beginning. We are now preparing materials for grade nine, and we will continue until we can offer every subject up to the end of high school.”
Alongside the Afghan curriculum, storytelling and English-language programs are also taught.
Mati Amin, co-founder of the SOLAx educational platform, said: “Our curriculum is built on critical thinking and active learning, structured around five stages — motivation, exploration, explanation, expansion, and evaluation.”
He added: “SOLAx is designed around students’ needs. Our eighth-grade curriculum includes mathematics, physics, biology, chemistry, history, geography, Persian, Pashto, and Islamic studies.” All subjects are taught in both Persian and Pashto.
Administrators say registration is “very simple.” Any student with a phone and internet access can enroll by sending a WhatsApp message to the school’s official numbers.
They explained that the idea for a fully online model emerged when the school received 1,950 applications for just 30 available seats.
“Taliban authorities do not allow girls in Afghanistan to attend school after the sixth grade,” Amin said. “They know the power of educated girls — and so do we. But nothing can block opportunities for our students.”
Shabana Rasikh stressed the importance of girls’ access to education, saying educated girls can build a brighter future for Afghanistan. She added: “A peaceful, prosperous Afghanistan is not built with bullets and bombs — it is built with literature, science, and art. It is built by educated girls and women. SOLAx helps us move in that direction.”
The creation of SOLAx comes as the Taliban have banned education for girls beyond the sixth grade for three years, seven months, and fifteen days, a decision that has sparked widespread domestic and global condemnation.
