by Jasmine Davis

Chances are, if you’ve visited Film Annex at any point in the last year (or read any of my blog posts!), you’ve heard about the Afghan Development Project. It’s designed to help connect schools in Afghanistan to the rest of the world via connected Internet classrooms. The initiative also helps students in Afghanistan learn more about social media, filmmaking and other subjects. By using the Examer platform, the Afghan Development Project is even helping students to further their education by providing micro-scholarships to the best students to help them cover the cost of additional schooling.

But what does an Afghanistan school for girls or women rights in Afghanistan have to do with people outside the country? A lot, as it turns out! Standing up for female empowerment and education in one country benefits us all. The Afghan Development Project will eventually reach millions of students in Afghanistan - that’s a lot of people! Their education in social media will also put them in touch with a variety of people around the world, showing the new face of Afghanistan.



This technological education will position Afghanistan students to gain higher education in these fields, potentially leading to a surge of new talent in technological fields like software development. Wondering how to empower women? Helping them get jobs in higher-paying fields is a great place to start! That’s part of what the Afghan Development Project hopes to accomplish.



Female empowerment through education has a longstanding historical track record. From 18th century “bluestockings” to today’s Afghanistan schools for girls, achieving female empowerment often comes through education. The story of female empowerment isn’t a localized one - women interested in women’s empowerment in general should focus on the issue around the world, not just in their hometown.