As Victoria youth start heading back to school on Sept. 3, women in Afghanistan are still unable to get proper education after the Taliban's 2021 education ban for women and girls.
On Sept. 8, residents are invited to join the Victoria chapter of Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan (CW4WAfghan) at the fifth annual Red Pashmina Walk to support the right to learn. Participants are encouraged to gather pledges or donations and to wear red pashminas, which will be available to purchase at the event.
"Education is a fundamental human right. School, even one accessed from a laptop, can be a sanctuary from the instability, unfairness, and chaos outside. It can be a lifeline. We will continue to create educational opportunities and extend this lifeline to everyone struggling to access them." noted Lauryn Oates, executive director of Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan, in a news release.
Funds raised will support CW4WAfghan's programs including online education for Afghan women and girls, laptops and internet packages to access online courses, humanitarian baskets with food and at-home learning supplies, resettlement in Canada for at-risk Afghans, and scholarships for women to pursue higher education.
The first walk was held in Peterborough, Ont., in 2011, co-founded by Maryam Monsef, herself from Afghanistan, who later became the minister for women and gender equality and rural economic development.
Registration for the walk will be at 1 p.m. in Irving Park and participants will walk from James Bay to Bastion Square and back.
