Speaker Information

Youth Session

Panelist

Pashtana Dorani

  • Executive Director, LEARN Afghan

    Pashtana Dorani is a prominent Afghan feminist, activist, and educator who became the head of her family at 21 after her father’s death. By that time, she had already established LEARN Afghanistan, the nation’s first digital school network. Following the Taliban takeover in 2021, she was forced into exile; however, she continues to provide education to hundreds of girls in Afghanistan, despite a nationwide ban on female education. Pashtana is currently an International Scholar in Residence at Wellesley Centers for Women and a graduate student at Harvard's School of Education.

    She operates five underground schools in Afghanistan's southern and central highlands, ensuring that girls and women from rural and tribal backgrounds have access to education. These schools currently serve 631 students, and Pashtana aims to expand her initiative to 34 schools across all Afghan provinces by 2025, focusing on innovative solutions in education and healthcare.

    Pashtana is renowned for her courage and directness, frequently appearing in media such as PBS, BBC, and Der Spiegel. At Wellesley, she conducts research on female education and maternal and newborn health.

    Her achievements include being named a Global Education Champion by the Malala Fund and being one of BBC's 100 most influential women in 2021. Pashtana also participated in #Times100talks in 2022 and is a member of the UNGEI’s Feminist Education Coalition. Her accolades include the UN Young Activists Award, the Global Citizen Prize, the CEU Open Society Prize, and the Women of Excellence Award from the Women Economic Forum. Pashtana's compelling biography, “Last to Eat, Last to Learn”, was published in 2022 in Germany and in 2023 in the USA and Italy.

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