Hello. I am writing this message on behalf of many Afghan doves.

I tried to write about our situation here, many times. But I failed. Because, I could not find proper words for them. It is really beyond what words can handle. In addition, I did not want to write emotional words that would make you feel sorry for us.

But know that, we are enduring a lot. Beyond a teenage girl’s capacity. We are growing up, but not 2, or 3, or 4 years, hundreds of years. Not in years, but in the silent battles we fight in this darkness. There are hundreds of thousands of doves who are falling, but they do not reach the ground. You know why? Because they are not conscious of their ability to fly. They do not know that they have wings. They need someone to remind them that they have wings, the ability to fly. But unfortunately, they have no one to stand by their side.

It has been 4 years that we are handling all this alone. We did not want anything else from the world, but talking about this, but raising awareness about this situation. Let alone the fact that no one is even talking about it. People, from around the world, are coming and hanging out with this group here. Every day, we see many tourists coming here with a camera in their hands, saying, “Hey guys, as you can see there are more women than men on streets, so women can actually go out! It’s so safe here! I have not experienced anything bad from them.”

It feels like being in a coma, and someone says, “Her heart is beating, so she is living.”

But I promise, one day we will all be able to fly, very high in the sky, over the clouds. Carrying the pure white flags of peace, we will show the world that kindness and love is the biggest trait of humanity.

Student A with a book

I was always an active and ambitious student. Before schools were banned for women and girls in Afghanistan, I thrived in my studies and school activities. However, when the restrictions were imposed, everything changed. It was a devastating time for me. When the time for exams came, I was left with a sense of incompletion and loss knowing that the schools and universities had suddenly been closed to me.

Feeling frustrated, sad, and with a deep sense of uncertainty, I tried to keep my mind engaged by solving math problems, reading books, and studying on my own. However, I couldn’t rid myself of the feeling that I was wasting my talents. To counter that, I took a leap and started teaching English and Turkish. While it was fulfilling to help others, it pained me to know that I wasn’t advancing my own education or pursuing new opportunities. I longed for a place where I could continue to learn and grow.

When I found out about Pax Populi Academy, everything changed. I felt inspired from the moment I was interviewed for admission. The interviewer left a profound impact on me, and being accepted into the academy gave me a renewed sense of hope.

Since joining Pax Populi Academy, my life has been transformed. I’m no longer the hopeless person I was before. Now, I’m passionate about learning and filled with excitement for every subject we study. Our teachers are exceptional, dedicated, experienced, and deeply invested in our growth. My classmates are equally inspiring; their intelligence motivates me to push myself further.

One of the most transformative experiences at the academy has been studying philosophy. I’ve fallen in love with thinking critically, asking questions, and exploring the nature of things. This class has truly reshaped how I view the world. My ability to analyze, reflect, and engage with complex ideas has improved immensely. Every single day, I learn something new. It’s an incredible feeling to share that knowledge with the people around me.

Whether it’s philosophy, economics, math, or chemistry, I feel like I’m growing in every field. What makes Pax Populi Academy so special is the way our teachers teach. They don’t just pass on knowledge; they show us how to use it in meaningful ways. This practical, hands-on approach makes learning both effective and empowering.

Pax Populi Academy isn’t just a school; it’s a place that inspires change. It has given me the tools to look at the world in new ways, communicate more effectively, and make a difference in the world. Every day, I’m driven by the academy’s mission to spread education and create a positive impact. I carry that passion with me in everything I do.

Congratulations to Pax Populi Academy for completing in June 2024 its first year as a full-curriculum underground school for women and girls in Afghanistan! Over the previous nine months, a group of dedicated teachers, students, and administrators worked selflessly to respond to the massive need for schooling for female students in Afghanistan. What began as an experiment ended as a successful demonstration of what can be done when people work together to create an educational community.

Pax Populi is the people-to-people peacebuilding program of the nonprofit organization, Applied Ethics, Inc. (AE). From 2010 until 2023, Pax Populi acted on its mission by offering educational services, primarily English language training to students in Afghanistan through its online school, Pax Populi Academy. After the return of Taliban rule in August 2021, women and girls were barred from participating in schooling beyond the 6^th grade. Pax Populi Academy responded by reinventing itself to become a full-curriculum school dedicated to assisting Afghan women and girls to complete their secondary education.

After months of planning, in October 2023, the new PPA was launched as an underground secondary school with classes held five days a week from October through June, with breaks during the New Year’s holiday and following the Holy Month of Ramadan. After a three-month pilot project with only 10 students, we increased the number of students to 25. The school curriculum was modeled on international standards and includes various forms of mathematics, such as pre-algebra math, algebra I and II, etc., computer science, biology, history, conversational English, and academic English for research and writing.

Our second school year will begin on August 26, 2024. The application period for the 2024-2025 school year is over and decisions on admissions have been made. 

Our upcoming class is expected to expand to approximately 75 students.

“Z” isn’t her name or even her initial. Z., however, lives in Afghanistan, and she needs to hide her identity because she is a student in Pax Populi’s underground school.

Z. is 17 years old. She is smart, with a vibrant hungry mind. She was among the top students in her class. However, not long after the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, school doors across the country were shut to girls beyond 6th grade. Z. then found herself among the millions of women and girls barred from school based on their gender. Despite this devastating blow, Z.’s dream is still to go to college… and we are trying to help her realize that dream.

Pax Populi — the peacebuilding program of the nonprofit organization, Applied Ethics, Inc. — has always focused on peace through education. However, we have been obliged to deliver our services in secret since the change in government in Afghanistan in August 2021. Right now, our school is a pilot program. As we test our systems and develop our curriculum, we have limited enrollment to 25 students receiving instruction from eight teachers. With classes held five days every week, we are giving our students a high school level of education. For our students, our underground school could make all the difference in the world. Never has a project seemed so consequential for those we serve.

Foreign troops have left Afghanistan; what remains but goes unnoticed, is a widespread belief that women and girls need an education and have a right to it. Our school exists not only because our students and their parents want it, but because they have the courage and capacity to pursue it.

They aren’t giving up and we mustn’t let them down. This is just the beginning of a very ambitious program. With the support of many, we will grow our school both in the number of students, the grades served, and the courses offered.

Please help us to strengthen and grow our underground school for girls in Afghanistan. Donations to Applied Ethics are tax-deductible for qualified taxpayers.

To donate, please click on this link.

For more information on Pax Populi’s underground school, click here.