Pashtana is a radical feminist activist. She was raised by a family of teachers, but even in her extended family in Afghanistan, she knew that many girls did not go to school. This drove her to start LEARN, a network of schools and partnerships to teach girls STEM subjects. After becoming the matriarch of her family at 22, she realised the importance of financial independence and decided to ensure her students had opportunities learn and earn. In 2020 she added digital skills such as web design and graphic design to the LEARN program and has already connected dozens of students to job opportunities in Afghanistan and globally. Her ambition is to extend LEARN to 34 schools across Afghanistan in the next 2 years and 350 schools across all districts in the next 5 years.
