Help Afghan girls stay in class.
At Behdukht Online Academy, a mobile phone connects girls to lessons, teachers, and one another. Your support helps keep that connection open.
See how to helpRead our story
students since 2023
provinces reached
of lessons taught by students
free education
Our story
Behdukht Online Academy began in 2023 with five girls. Today, more than 200 girls in grades 7–12 learn together across 12 provinces of Afghanistan, through a free school on WhatsApp.
Our founder, Fatema Uzgun Nusrat, is a lawyer and women’s rights and education activist. She started the academy to help Afghan girls continue their education.
We are dedicated to supporting Afghan girls and women, especially in underserved communities and regions where education is restricted. Through online education, mentorship, and opportunities for personal growth, we make space for learning to continue.
For a closer look at the academy, read our story in 8am Media (Persian), published for Teachers’ Day.
Learning grows when students teach.
About 75% of our lessons are taught by students themselves. A grade 12 student teaches girls in grades 7–10. A grade 8 student helps grade 7.
Voice messages, short videos, and written notes turn WhatsApp into a classroom. Volunteer and student-teachers share their time and knowledge, while continuing their own learning.
“Their classroom is a mobile phone, but their determination is taller than any school wall.”
Fatema Uzgun Nusrat, Founder
What we need most
Our school runs on volunteer time, mobile phones, and internet access.
Internet data packages
For students and teachers, so they can stay in class. Data packages help girls receive lessons, send their work, and stay in touch with teachers. They also help teachers keep classes running when connectivity is unstable.
Small stipends
For our volunteer and student-teachers. Our teachers currently receive no salaries. Small stipends would support the time they give to teaching and mentoring, helping them continue their work with the academy.
Want to help? Contact our founder, Fatema Uzgun Nusrat, to support internet data packages and stipends for our teachers.
Online donations are not available yet. A secure donation link will be added here.