USAID announces 5 year scholarship program for Afghan females

United Stated Agency for International Development (USAID) has recently announced a five-year education scholarship program for Afghan girls.

Head of the empowerment of women in Asian Foundation says  that these scholarships are for those Afghan females who have weak economy and failed in university entrance.

“These scholarships are for undergraduate and Master students. 216 scholarships are for those who failed in year 1395 university entrance exam,” said Suraya Omari, head of the empowerment of women in Asian Foundation.

WASHINGTON, DC: The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) launched a five-year program targeting the education, promotion, and training of a new generation of Afghan women, aged 18-30.

Named “Promote,” the program’s goal is to increase women’s contributions to Afghanistan’s development by strengthening women’s rights groups, boosting female participation in the economy, increasing the number of women in decision making positions within the Afghan government, and helping women gain business and management skills.

With substantial assistance from USAID, Afghanistan has seen one of the most rapid declines in maternal mortality anywhere in the world and an increase in overall life expectancy of 15 – 20 years.

Girls now account for more than a third of all school children in Afghanistan compared to virtually none in 2002. More than 120,000 young women have finished secondary school and 40,000 are working on university degrees. Women have entered the business and political arenas with women making up more than 25 percent of the Afghan parliament.