One nonprofit organization is going above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to empowering underprivileged women in Afghanistan.
Code to Inspire (CTI), led by founder Fereshteh Forough, started an after-school program in January 2015 followed in November of the same year by the opening of its first coding school for girls in Herat, Afghanistan. Forough’s aim was to empower half of the Afghanistan population through education to improve the economy, while putting underserved women on a path to financial independence.
Currently providing a safe educational environment for 50 female students aged 15-25, Code to Inspire is helping change the way women are seen in a country where women face barriers among conservative families and extremists.
Speaking to Bitcoin Magazine , Forough said it can be challenging to work in an environment where women are not encouraged to receive the same education as their male counterparts.
“Girls in Afghanistan lack safe places to study and learn. Girls in Afghanistan lack employment opportunities, specifically in technology,” she said. “Only 16 percent of Afghan women are employed while 2014 saw only 20 percent of public universities taking in female students.”
In a bid to bridge the gap between female and male education, Code to Inspire’s goal is to improve women’s economic and social advancement in Afghanistan’s growing tech industry. By offering courses in coding, access to technology and professional resources in addition to job placement, CTI students have a greater chance of attaining employment that is both financially rewarding and socially accessible.
“Access to the wealth of the global technology economy enables CTI students to add unique value to their households and their communities, and to challenge the traditional gender roles in Afghanistan with the best argument out there–results,” said Forough.
In a part of the world which has islands of human population separated by […]
