Her Right to Learn: Educating Girls in Afghanistan
Date: Wednesday, November 5, 2025 from 6:00-7:30pm ET
Location: Tishman Commons, Lulu Chow Wang Campus Center
Join the Wellesley Centers for Women for a conversation with human rights activist and International Scholar-in-Residence Pashtana Durrani about her organization LEARN Afghan. Durrani will be joined in conversation by international development economist and LEARN board member Courtenay Cabot Venton.
Education for women in Afghanistan is under threat. But women are showing up for each other through LEARN, a grassroots organization Durrani founded in 2018 that provides education and healthcare to girls through innovative offline platforms. Despite the Taliban’s restrictions on women’s rights, LEARN has impacted 6 million learners via radio programs, 2 million through a SIM card-based learning initiative, and 5,300 girls in person across 24 provinces of Afghanistan.
Join us for a screening of a short video about LEARN followed by an in-depth discussion of Durrani’s personal and professional journey, the significance of educational technology in her work, and how she sees the situation on the ground in Afghanistan. A reception will follow.
