Blinken unveils edu programmes for Afghan women

KABUL (Pajhwok): US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has announced the launch of three new programmes for Afghan women to increase their skills, training and job opportunities.

Blinken made the announcement while addressing the Alliance for Afghan Women’s Economic Resilience (AWER) Summit on Tuesday, the State Department said in a statement.

He said: “Countries from around the world, though, are determined to support Afghan women and girls who want to learn, who want to go to school, who want to pursue their education, who want to work.”

The US diplomat said countries like Indonesia and Qatar had coordinated international efforts to expand educational opportunity for Afghan women.

He also referred to the  more than 70 countries around the globe which came together in a joint statement at the United Nations calling for the equal and meaningful participation of women and girls in Afghan society.

According to Blinken, the alliance will soon begin offering three new kinds of programmes for Afghan women.

First, the alliance will provide virtual training and skills-building courses for Afghan women around the world so that they can get jobs and earn an income.

For example, the Qatari Government, the Qatari foundation Education Above All, and the American education company Coursera will provide hundreds of thousands of Afghan women with technical job training classes.  Microsoft, LinkedIn, will give women a chance to earn certifications, and then connect them with employers so that they can put their new skills to use.

Second, the United States and the Education Above All Foundation will provide scholarships so Afghan women refugees in the United States can finish their bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

Third, the alliance will support Afghan women as they start and then grow their own businesses.  Arizona State University’s business school is going to be offering free online courses;

Meta will provide training in subjects like financial literacy and digital marketing so that entrepreneurs can learn how to scale up their operations, reach new customers and create jobs for others in their communities.

Finally, the alliance will continue providing opportunities for Afghan women around the world to work with mentors in their fields.

Two years ago, the tech company POD started the initiative and, now Microsoft and LinkedIn are joining in as well.

sa/mud

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