Afghan women who fled Taliban to study abroad face return after USAID freeze

More than 80 Afghan women who fled the Taliban to prosecute higher acquisition successful Oman present look imminent deportation backmost to Afghanistan, pursuing the Trump administration's sweeping frost connected overseas assistance programmes.

Funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), their scholarships were abruptly terminated aft a backing frost ordered by President Donald Trump erstwhile helium returned to bureau successful January.

"It was heart-breaking," 1 pupil told the BBC, speaking anonymously for fearfulness of reprisals. "Everyone was shocked and crying. We've been told we volition beryllium sent backmost wrong 2 weeks."

Since regaining powerfulness astir 4 years ago, the Taliban has imposed draconian restrictions connected women, including banning them from universities.

US assistance backing had enabled thousands of Afghan women to survey overseas oregon proceed acquisition online, but galore of these programmes are present suspended.

The Trump administration's assistance frost has faced ineligible roadblocks but thousands of humanitarian programmes astir the satellite person been terminated oregon thrown into jeopardy arsenic the White House seeks to chopped billions successful authorities spending.

The students successful Oman accidental preparations are already nether mode to instrumentality them to Afghanistan, and person appealed to the planetary assemblage to "intervene urgently".

The BBC has seen emails sent to the 82 students informing them that their scholarships person been "discontinued" owed to the termination of the programme and USAID funding.

The emails - which admit the quality volition beryllium "profoundly disappointing and unsettling" - notation to question arrangements backmost to Afghanistan, which caused alarm among the students.

"We request contiguous protection, fiscal assistance and resettlement opportunities to a harmless state wherever we tin proceed our education," 1 told the BBC.

The USAID website's media interaction leafage remains offline. The BBC has contacted the US State Department for comment.

The Afghan women, present facing a forced instrumentality from Oman, had been pursuing postgraduate and post-graduate courses nether the Women's Scholarship Endowment (WSE), a USAID programme which began successful 2018.

It provided scholarships for Afghan women to survey science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), the disciplines banned for women by the Taliban.

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Just implicit a week ago, the students were told their scholarships had been terminated.

"It's similar everything has been taken distant from me," different pupil told the BBC. "It was the worst moment. I'm nether utmost accent close now."

These women, mostly aged successful their 20s, qualified for scholarships successful 2021 earlier the Taliban seized Afghanistan. Many continued their studies successful Afghan universities until December 2022, erstwhile the Taliban banned higher acquisition for women.

After 18 months successful limbo, they said they fled to Pakistan past September.

USAID past facilitated their visas to Oman, wherever they arrived betwixt October and November 2024.

"If we are sent back, we volition look terrible consequences. It would mean losing each our dreams," a pupil said. "We won't beryllium capable to survey and our families mightiness unit america to get married. Many of america could besides beryllium astatine idiosyncratic hazard owed to our past affiliations and activism."

The Taliban has cracked down connected women protesting for acquisition and work, with galore activists beaten, detained and threatened.

Women successful Afghanistan picture themselves arsenic "dead bodies moving around" nether the regime's brutal policies.

The Taliban authorities says it has been trying to resoluteness the contented of women's education, but has besides defended its ultimate leader's diktats, saying they are "in accordance with Islamic Sharia law".

"Afghanistan is experiencing sex apartheid, with women systematically excluded from basal rights, including education," a pupil said.

She and her friends successful Oman had managed to flight that fate, arsenic the scholarships were expected to money their acquisition until 2028.

"When we came here, our sponsors told america to not spell backmost to Afghanistan till 2028 for vacations oregon to sojourn our families due to the fact that it's not harmless for us. And present they're telling america to go," a pupil said.

Last month, White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly blamed the concern for Afghan women connected the US military's withdrawal from the state nether the Democrats, telling the Washington Post: "Afghan women are suffering due to the fact that Joe Biden's disastrous withdrawal allowed the Taliban to enforce mediaeval Sharia instrumentality policies."

The determination to slash American assistance backing has travel nether the Trump administration, and been implemented by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency.

And these women look a grim future, urgently seeking a lifeline earlier clip runs out.

Additional reporting by Aakriti Thapar