Afghan girls' school launches permanent campus in Rwanda after exile
The School of Leadership of Afghanistan (SOLA) opened its first permanent campus in Rwanda, providing a safe learning environment for displaced Afghan girls.
When the Taliban reclaimed Afghanistan, Shabana Basij-Rasikh fled with her school’s staff and graduates, eventually receiving an invitation to relocate to Rwanda. The newly built SOLA campus, hidden for security, will host 122 Afghan girls and allow the organization to double its enrollment capacity. Classes commenced shortly after the group’s arrival, following a brief stint in a hotel that served as a provisional classroom.
To reach students still in Afghanistan, SOLA operates SOLAx, a smartphone-friendly platform delivering grades 6-12 lessons via WhatsApp, now used by 41,000 learners in Afghanistan and 76 other countries. The program is free and financed by international donors, with notable support from the Andrew Carnegie Foundation and a 2024 grant awarded by Melinda French Gates. Despite ongoing restrictions that keep Afghan girls out of formal schools, SOLA’s leaders say their mission is to prepare these students to eventually return and lead change in their homeland.
Why it matters
It shows how displaced educators are creating safe, innovative schooling for Afghan girls barred from education at home.
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