REGINA — After narrowly escaping deportation to Afghanistan, where the Taliban has barred women from higher education, Spogmai Hashemi says arriving in Canada has been nothing short of life-changing.
Hashemi grew up in Afghanistan and was studying at the American University of Afghanistan in 2021 when everything changed after the Taliban takeover. Among many other rules limiting people’s rights and freedoms, the militant political movement restricts women from pursuing post-secondary or higher education.
“For almost one and a half years, I wasn't able to make it out of my home,” said Hashemi.
Despite this, Hashemi continued her studies online until she and other Afghan women fled to Qatar.
“[This] happened through co-operation between our university and Qatar Foundation, so they jointly work on that, and they work on our student visa, they work on our tickets and everything, and they got us there.”
Hashemi and others continued their education on scholarships provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
However, the USAID shut down in February, leaving Hashemi and other Afghan women facing deportation.
Hashemi had been working and needed 30 days to find an employer who could sponsor a Qatar ID.
“I only knew a few people who could help me, and I had to take a low profile.”
In a dire situation, Hashemi managed to connect with Women Leaders of Tomorrow, a non-profit organization that works to empower Afghan women.
"We always support Afghan women's education and scholarships, and groceries to come to Canada. Our scholarships are also for those students who are highly qualified because this is a very competitive and selective process and program,” said Friba Reezeya, founder and executive director of Women Leaders of Tomorrow.
Women Leaders of Tomorrow has partnered with the University of Regina under Project Resilience, which provides refuge, learning and opportunities to help Afghan women remain stable while they pursue their studies.
Reezeya explained her organization works to raise funds for Afghan women, which are then given to the University of Regina (U of R) for scholarships.
Project Resilience had a goal of reaching $500,000, which was surpassed by over $300,000.
One challenge Women Leaders of Tomorrow faced while working on Hashemi’s and two other Afghan women’s student visas was the international student caps set by the federal government.
Reezeya called this “very unfair,” citing that Afghanistan is a unique situation with education for women.
“It's not just a ban. There's a punishment associated with it, including imprisonment and torture.”
Reezeya described the whole process as “very challenging.”
“We had to advocate constantly, and we went above and beyond our normal working hours and beyond our personnel hours and effort and energy to make sure that these students would receive their visas.”
Luckily for Reezeya, her hard work paid off, and she managed to get Hashemi and two other Afghan women into Canada.
“It's been amazing, I can say it cannot be more perfect,” said Hashemi about her experience since arriving in Canada in October.
“We made it to this place, which is safe, and the community, which is welcoming and with the generosity and the opportunity, we're gonna pursue our education, which is a big dream for all of us.”
The three Afghans will start their studies at the U of R come January. Hashemi will be taking a master's in public administration.
Meanwhile, Project Resilience is currently working on bringing roughly 25 more Afghan women to study at the U of R.
Having lost her right to education at one point, Hashemi is also hoping to be an example of positive change.
“I can be part of like raising awareness about the values and the importance of education for every girl on this earth.”
