OVERVIEW

The U.S. Government is committed to women’s empowerment in Afghanistan. Improving access to workforce development, training and education for Afghan women and girls is vital to their empowerment. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) provides scholarship opportunities for young Afghan women to access quality education and training, which will enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the Afghan government by upgrading the skills and qualifications of female civil servants.

ACTIVITIES

• Provides scholarships, through the Department of State, to Afghan women to complete undergraduate and graduate degrees at the American University of Central Asia (AUCA) and the American University of Afghanistan (AUAF).
• Supports female employees in the Ministry of Finance and other Afghan ministries to complete the Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) program at AUAF.
• Provides professional certification scholarships for Afghan women to complete professional certificates in business, accounting, and information technology at AUAF’s professional development institutes in Herat, Kandahar, Mazar-i-Sharif, and Jalalabad.
• Provides scholarships to young women to complete their Bachelor’s Degrees at private universities across Afghanistan and for Master’s Degrees in neighboring countries.
• Provides university entrance examination preparatory courses for secondary school age girls to increase their competitive advantage for enrolling in a state university.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• As of March 2016, seven beneficiaries enrolled in degree programs at AUCA and seven enrolled at AUAF.
• As of January 2016, five MBA scholars began the second semester at the AUAF.
• As of January 2016, 22 women enrolled in the English Preparatory Class for the MBA degree program.
• Enrolled 180 female scholars to complete their professional certification with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the Financial Information Associates (FIA) and the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM).
• As of July 2019, 700 female students are studying at private universities in Afghanistan to obtain their Bachelor’s Degree.
• On July 2019, The Asia Foundation signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Moraa University in Kabul to enroll 53 female scholars in undergraduate degree programs.
• As of July 2019, 149 female scholars are in graduate degree programs in India.