Founder’s Story
My Childhood in the Shadows of War
I was born in 1987, just before Afghanistan was engulfed in a brutal civil war. By the time I was eight, the Taliban had seized power, and my family was forced to flee Kabul. We resettled in Ghazni, my father’s hometown, where life was harsh—but nothing compared to the heartbreak of watching my two sisters be denied their right to go to school.
While I was allowed to continue my education, they were not. That injustice lit a fire in me. I began teaching them at night by the dim glow of an alekain—an oil lantern still used in the Hazarajat region of Afghanistan. That alekain became our symbol of hope. By day, I went to Shaheed Abdullah Boys Middle School and worked on our farm. By night, I tutored my two sisters in reading literacy and basic numeracy. By 2001, when I graduated from middle school, my two sisters had become sixth-grade level reading and math proficient when they tackled sixth-grade placement exams to continue their education at an accelerated learning center in Kabul.
From a Student to an Educator
I began teaching Math and English at the Marifat Development Society in 2004. Three years later, while pursuing my BA in English at Kabul Education University, I founded the Kateb English House –also known as the Payam Kateb Educational Center – an accelerated learning program for girls like my sisters who had missed years of schooling under Taliban rule. My students’ resilience inspired me. My mission became clear: to ensure that no child—especially no girl—is ever denied the right to learn.
Over the next 15 years, I worked with USAID, UNESCO, and other organizations while continuing my education. Today, I am a Ph.D. candidate in Education Policy at Arizona State University.
Alekain: A Light in the Darkness
When the Taliban reinstated the ban on girls’ education in 2021, I knew I had to act. I founded the Alekain Foundation, a U.S.-based nonprofit. Alekain is more than a name—it’s a symbol of resistance, especially in the Hazarajat, where even electricity has been denied to our people.
Our mission is simple but urgent: to provide girls in Afghanistan with access to accredited, high-quality education. We believe education is not just a right—it’s a tool for liberation, leadership, and lasting change.
Impact in Just Six Months
In November 2024, we launched our first call for applications. Within two weeks, we reached 821 girls from across 22 provinces. After rigorous testing and interviews, we selected 29 students for our inaugural cohort. These young women come from some of the most remote and underserved regions of Afghanistan—Badakhshan, Daykundi, Bamiyan—and represent the country’s rich ethnic diversity.
Each student is now enrolled in Smart Schools International, where they will earn an American high school diploma under a 22-month program. They’ve been paired with American college mentors who support them academically and emotionally. We’ve partnered with Right to Learn Afghanistan to provide laptops and internet access.