By Pranita Poudyal | Social Media and Communications Officer
Dear Friends of Charmaghz,
When we last wrote, we shared a hope: that even in one of the hardest places in the world to be a girl, we could build something that lasts. We envisioned a space where Afghan girls locked out of school could keep learning, reading, and imagining a future for themselves. Over the past three months, with you behind us, that hope has become something real. We want to share where things stand and what lies ahead.
In Afghanistan today, a girl has been shut out of the classroom, the library, the park, and nearly every room where ideas are exchanged. What is taken from her is not only her schooling but her community: the simple experience of sitting among others her own age and having her thoughts treated as worth hearing.
Our Parkhan program exists to give that connection back to them. Each week, girls who are no longer permitted through a school's doors gather instead in a quiet online room, led by an Afghan woman, to read and discuss not only books but their hopes for the future.
Thanks to your generosity, Parkhan is now up and running, and it has been a joy to watch it take shape. We have welcomed our first cohort of 115 girls from 15 provinces across Afghanistan into these book clubs. Each group is guided by one of seven facilitators, all Afghan women educators who are leading and mentoring at a moment when their own opportunities have narrowed so sharply.
Every month, a new book arrives at each girl's doorstep, and the club reads it together. Stories such as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Around the World in 80 Days give them both the joy of reading and the room to be heard. Together, the girls are building their critical thinking skills along with their confidence and curiosity. In the second half of the program, they will begin to write and tell their own stories. We cannot wait to share the writing and ideas we know these girls will create. None of this would have been possible without you.
Building on the remarkable foundation and community of Parkhan, we have now opened applications for our next major step: an Online Secondary School, set to launch this July.
We are now preparing to welcome our first students, many of whom have spent the past few years watching the doors to traditional secondary schools stay shut, unsure whether their education would ever continue. To open a classroom for them now, even an online one, is to say that it can, proving that their learning did not end when the gates closed, and that there is still a future worth preparing for.
These two programs are only the beginning. Over the course of 2026, we plan to expand our work by launching Entrepreneurship training and English classes alongside Parkhan and our secondary school, ultimately reaching a total of 455 girls.
We could not have imagined or achieved any of this without your support. We are deeply grateful to have you with us, and we thank you all for standing beside us as we defend girls' education in the most challenging context on earth.
With warmth and thanks,
The Charmaghz Team
By Freshta Karim | Founder
By Freshta Karim | Founder
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