Afghan women who fled Taliban for education to return amid Donald Trump's USAID freeze

The scholarships were abruptly terminated after the US President imposed the funding freeze while taking charge of the Oval Office in January.

After US President Donald Trump imposed sweeping cuts on foreign aid programmes, more than 80 Afghan women who fled Taliban for higher studies in Oman stand to return to Afghanistan.

Afghan women, clad in burqa, reportedly said that everyone was shocked and crying as the scholarships got terminated. (AFP)

These women's scholarships were funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), a federal agency that now is at the brink of shutting down amid Trump and his ally Elon Musk's decision to eliminate over 90 per cent of foreign aid contracts.

The scholarships were abruptly terminated after the US President imposed the funding freeze while taking charge of the Oval Office in January, BBC reported.

One of the students told the media outlet, "It was heartbreaking. Everyone was shocked and crying. We've been told we will be sent back within two weeks."

The draconian restrictions enforced on women by the Taliban, who regained power in Afghanistan nearly four years ago, also included their ban from universities.

While Trump's aid freeze has faced several legal challenges in the States and across the world, several aid and humanitarian programs are already feeling the impact of the cuts. Many of these programs are from fragile countries that rely highly on USAID to support health systems, nutrition program and fight off starvation.

The Afghan women students in Oman said that while preparations are underway for their return to home, they have appealed to the international community to "intervene urgently".

‘Like everything has been taken away’

One of the students told BBC, "We need immediate protection, financial assistance and resettlement opportunities to a safe country where we can continue our education."

Notably, these Afghan women, who now are forced to return to their homes, had been pursuing graduate and post-graduate courses in Oman under the Women's Scholarship Endowment (WSE), a USAID programme which started in 2018.

The scholarships worked towards helping Afghan women to study science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), subjects that have been banned for women by the Taliban.

Another student told BBC, "It's like everything has been taken away from me. It was the worst moment. I'm under extreme stress right now.'

The women, largely in the age group of 20 years, qualified for the scholarships back in 2021 before Afghanistan's seizure at the hands of Taliban. Even then, till December 2022, many women continued their education in Afghan universities, until Taliban banned higher studies for them.

After their struggle, these women said they fled to Pakistan last September, following USAID facilitated their visas to Oman.

Another student expressed fear that they would face "severe consequences" if sent back. "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."

Notably, Afghani women in the country described themselves as "dead bodies moving around" as Taliban has brutal regime policies in place.

While the Taliban administration has been trying to solve the issue surrounding women's education, it has also defended the diktats of its supreme leader which it said are "in accordance with Islamic Sharia law".

"Afghanistan is experiencing gender apartheid, with women systematically excluded from basic rights, including education," said a student who along with her friends in Oman had managed to escape that fate as the USAID funding to their scholarships was to last till 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," another student was quoted as saying.

Last month, Anna Kelly, White House deputy press secretary, had told reporters that the situation of Afghan women came to be due to the withdrawal of US military from the country under the Joe Biden-led Democratic administration.