Brief Relief For Afghan Women Students Facing Return To Afghanistan After US Aid Cuts

Afghan women studying in Oman under US-funded scholarships will now continue their studies until June 30, 2025, after a temporary reversal of funding cuts.

A student said that though they are relieved they are still concerned about their future.

Source : Freepik

Over 80 Afghan women students who are studying in Oman with US-funded scholarships, were relieved to find out that the fund cuts have been reversed temporarily. A US State Department spokesperson said that the scholarship will continue until June 30, 2025.

According to a BBC report, these students are pursuing graduate and post-graduate degrees in Oman under the Women's Scholarship Endowment (WSE), a US Agency for International Development (USAID) program launched in 2018 to fund studies in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

On February 28, they were informed that their scholarships were ending, and they would be sent back to Afghanistan within two weeks. This came after the US had announced a sudden freeze of funds to the USAID. The decision to cut American aid funding was made under the Trump administration and carried out by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

While speaking about the reprieve a student said that though they are relieved they are still concerned about their future.

“If the scholarship is not renewed, we will be left with no option but to return to Afghanistan, where we cannot study, and our safety could be under threat as well," the student said.

After the Taliban took over Afghanistan nearly four years ago, women fled to continue their studies abroad. However, the US decided on a sudden freeze of USAID funds and this has put them at the risk of being sent back. The Taliban has enforced severe restrictions on women, including a ban on university education.

Taliban Working To Resolve Issue Of Women's Education

Meanwhile, Afghanistan's Taliban government claims to be working on resolving the issue of women's education but continues to defend its supreme leader's orders, citing adherence to Islamic Sharia law. The regime has also suppressed women protesting for education and employment, with many activists facing beatings, detention, and threats.

Before the funding extension, a WSE staff member told the BBC they were urgently seeking alternative funding sources. Describing the situation as "dangerous and devastating," the staff member warned that the students risked persecution and forced marriages if returned to Afghanistan.

The women, mostly in their 20s, had qualified for scholarships in 2021 before the Taliban seized Afghanistan. Many continued their studies in Afghan universities until December 2022, when the Taliban banned higher education for women.

After spending 18 months in limbo, they fled to Pakistan last September. USAID later facilitated their visas to Oman, where they arrived between October and November 2024.