Kabul, Afghanistan (AP) – One after the other, opportunities have faded. Like many other Afghan women, Sodava could do little, but he could see her country’s new Taliban government imposing stranglehold on women’s lives.
The Taliban Seized power in Afghanistan in 2021and soon began implementing a set of dizzy restrictions for women: no Visit the park Or no meals at the gym, restaurant, or work.
But one of the most cruel blows for pharmacology students is Education is prohibited beyond elementary schools.
She went online if necessary. And she found hope: a free computer coding course for women in Afghanistan. In Greece, she was taught in her own language, Dali, by young Afghan refugees living in half the world.
“I believe that people should not be able to (bow) depending on the situation, but they should grow and dream in every possible way,” Sodava said. She began learning computer programming and website development.
The new skills “helped me to regain confidence and clarity in my direction,” said the 24-year-old, who asked to be identified by her name for safety reasons. No education. “I’m so happy to be part of this trip.”
The course is part of Afghanistan nerds, a company created by Murtaza Jafari (now 25) who has arrived in Greece. By boat from Türkiye As a teenage refugee many years ago.
Murtaza Jafari, 25, an Afghan immigrant, enters the code on Wednesday, July 23, 2025, while teaching a woman who lives in Afghanistan in Athens, Greece remotely.
“I didn’t know… like zero zero.”
After Athens arrived, while living in a shelter in Athens, Jafari received help from his teacher to enroll in a computer coding course. He didn’t know anything about computers, even how to turn on a computer, but he didn’t know what coding was and didn’t speak English language, which is essential to computer programming.
“I didn’t know about English. I don’t know, like zero zero,” he said. “And I was working at the same time to learn Greek, English, then computers… that was very difficult for me.”
But a few months later, he got his certificate.
Coding has opened up a new world. A few years ago he founded an Afghan nerd.
Pay before that
Jafari said she began offering online courses to help women in her hometown last December, speaking as an expression of gratitude for the help she received as foreign youth only.
“My main goal was to give back to the community, especially the women in Afghanistan, for free what I received from others,” he said, sitting in a sparse, one-room flat in downtown Athens.
“I think…sharing knowledge makes a real difference to someone,” he said. “And if I share it, it just goes, expands, and there are more people who learn things.”
Jafari currently has 28 female students Afghanistan Three classes: beginner, intermediate and advanced.
Aside from teaching, he also teaches students to use new skills to find online internships and jobs. For women in the country Almost all occupations are prohibitedThe opportunity for online work is lifelines.
The most qualified will join his team of Afghan geeks. It also offers website development and chatbot creation services. He currently has several clients, he said from Afghanistan, the US, the UK and Europe.
“These clients were pleased with contributions with meaningful goals, so the goal was to support women, which was why they were continuing to come back to other projects they have,” Jafari said.
He has taught his students for seven months, but Jafari has never seen his face. He asks how they are and what the situation in Afghanistan is. “But I’ve never asked them to open a camera, share their profiles, or share images. I’ve never done that.
Murtaza Jafari, 25, an Afghan immigrant, sat in front of a computer on Wednesday, July 23, 2025 while coding remotely to a woman who currently lives in Afghanistan in Athens, Greece.
Online Academy
Taliban government restrictions have led women to become increasingly locked in their homes and officially go. Women’s voices and naked faces are prohibited in publicThis web has opened up a new world of possibilities for women in Afghanistan.
A year and a half ago, Zhal, a young Afghan woman whose dream of going to college was shattered, partnered with a university professor to launch an online academy for women.
What began as a five-person team now has 150 teachers and administrator crews and more than 4,000 students, she said.
“We all work voluntarily without pay or support,” said the 20-year-old, who uses his nickname for fear of retaliation after being threatened with the academy. “Our sole purpose or goal is to provide free education to girls and to enhance research in Afghanistan.”
Academy, Vision Online University currently operates courses on a variety of subjects, from psychology and foreign languages to Quran research, nursing and public speaking.
When the ban on education came into effect, “I was depressed because there was no use. There was no school, no university, no course. It really had an impact on me,” Zuhal said.
“Then I thought this was not the solution. If I’m depressed, it’s useless, not for me, not for other girls.” She decided, “I should not give up. I should do something for the girls in my country.”
Currently, she also holds a degree in computer science through online universities in the United States, University of People.
It was tough, she said. Without funds, the Academy for Women cannot pay for premium online services that allow large group meetings. She herself often struggles to buy her internet services.
“But I do that because I have a goal,” she said. “And my goal is to support girls. If I stop it, over 4,000 or over 5,000 girls will be depressed again.”
