Pashtana Durrani
Pashtana Durrani
Founder
Kandahar / United States
An Afghan feminist, activist, and educator who founded LEARN at the age of 21.
Profile
Her story
Raised in a family that prioritized education despite displacement, Durrani returned to Afghanistan in 2016. She founded LEARN after discovering the lack of educational access for her cousins and other girls in rural districts. Since the 2021 Taliban takeover, she has continued her work from exile as a scholar at Wellesley and Harvard, while managing the underground school network remotely.
“Lack of education wasn't a byproduct of poverty; it was a weapon.”
Looking ahead
What she’s building toward
Expanding digital school access to every girl in Afghanistan regardless of political barriers.
Follow the thread
Meet more of the women behind the work.
