The Taliban, school and me: how an Afghan girl risked everything for an education

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Recorded29 Jan 2024

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Sola Mahfouz was pulled out of school in Afghanistan at the age of 11 after a group of men threatened her safety if she continued studying. After years with no education, she began to secretly teach herself through online classes. Against the odds, Sola later passed a college entry test, travelled to the US to study and is now a quantum computing researcher at Tufts University. Writing under a pseudonym, she is also co-author of her memoir Defiant Dreams: The Journey of an Afghan Girl Who Risked Everything for an Education. In this episode of Top Class, she tells OECD Editor Duncan Crawford her remarkable story and reflects on life with the Taliban.

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