Afghan women who fled Taliban to study abroad face imminent return after USAID cuts
HandoutMore than 80 Afghan women who fled the Taliban to pursue higher education in Oman now face imminent return back to Afghanistan, following the Trump administration's sweeping cuts to foreign aid programmes.
Funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), their scholarships were abruptly terminated after a funding freeze ordered by President Donald Trump when he returned to office in January.
"It was heart-breaking," one student told the BBC, speaking anonymously for fear of reprisals. "Everyone was shocked and crying. We've been told we will be sent back within two weeks."
Since regaining power nearly four years ago, the Taliban has imposed draconian restrictions on women, including banning them from universities.
The Trump administration's aid freeze has faced legal roadblocks, but thousands of humanitarian programmes around the world have already been terminated as the White House dismantles USAID and cuts tens of billions of dollars in spending.
The students in Oman say preparations are under way to return them to Afghanistan, and have appealed to the international community to "intervene urgently".
The BBC has seen emails sent to the 82 students informing them that their scholarships have been "discontinued" due to the termination of the programme and USAID funding.
The emails - which acknowledge the news will be "profoundly disappointing and unsettling" - refer to travel arrangements back to Afghanistan, which caused alarm among the students.
"We need immediate protection, financial assistance and resettlement opportunities to a safe country where we can continue our education," one told the BBC.
The USAID website's media contact page remains offline. The BBC has contacted the US State Department for comment.
The Afghan women, now facing a forced return from Oman, had been pursuing graduate and post-graduate courses under the Women's Scholarship Endowment (WSE), a USAID programme which began in 2018.
It provided scholarships for Afghan women to study science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), the disciplines banned for women by the Taliban.
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Just over a week ago, the students were told their scholarships had been terminated.
"It's like everything has been taken away from me," another student told the BBC. "It was the worst moment. I'm under extreme stress right now."
These women, mostly aged in their 20s, qualified for scholarships in 2021 before the Taliban seized Afghanistan. Many continued their studies in Afghan universities until December 2022, when the Taliban banned higher education for women.
After 18 months in limbo, they said they fled to Pakistan last September.
USAID then facilitated their visas to Oman, where they arrived between October and November 2024.
"If we are sent back, we will face severe consequences. It would mean losing all our dreams," a student said. "We won't be able to study and our families might force us to get married. Many of us could also be at personal risk due to our past affiliations and activism."
The Taliban has cracked down on women protesting for education and work, with many activists beaten, detained and threatened.
Women in Afghanistan describe themselves as "dead bodies moving around" under the regime's brutal policies.
The Taliban government says it has been trying to resolve the issue of women's education, but has also defended its supreme leader's diktats, saying they are "in accordance with Islamic Sharia law".
"Afghanistan is experiencing gender apartheid, with women systematically excluded from basic rights, including education," a student said.
She and her friends in Oman had managed to escape that fate, as the scholarships were supposed to fund their education until 2028.
"When we came here, our sponsors told us to not go back to Afghanistan till 2028 for vacations or to visit our families because it's not safe for us. And now they're telling us to go," a student said.
Last month, White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly blamed the situation for Afghan women on the US military's withdrawal from the country under the Democrats, telling the Washington Post: "Afghan women are suffering because Joe Biden's disastrous withdrawal allowed the Taliban to impose mediaeval Sharia law policies."
The decision to slash American aid funding has come under the Trump administration, and been implemented by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency.
And these women face a grim future, urgently seeking a lifeline before time runs out.
Additional reporting by Aakriti Thapar