Mississauga student flees Taliban but continues fight for girls’ right to an education

Now finishing her first year of university, a Mississauga resident faced a life with no chance of higher education a few years ago.

Muzhda Akbari was born and raised in Afghanistan, the oldest of five children, four girls and one boy. Her family fled when the Taliban took over in 2021.

Akbari just finished her first year at the University of Toronto where she plans to major in women and gender studies and political science. Her long term goals are to study law and become a writer.

Life changed quickly for the women and girls in Afghanistan after the takeover, Akbari told INsauga.com.

She was 15 years old and had just entered high school, and up until then, she had attended school regularly. She studied science, English, Persian and there were school clubs.

“Just having access to education meant so much to us,” she said.

When the Taliban returned to power, people were in shock, and no one went to school at first, she said. After a few weeks, the government announced that girls beyond Grade 6 should not attend school.

“The Taliban decreed that woman and girls could no longer go to school, they cannot work, and these challenges continued, which prompted my family to leave the country in 2021,” she said.

Akbari said her parents used to work for the government and her grandparents were well-known advocates for women’s rights, so they could not live freely under the Taliban.

“Also, for a family that has four daughters, education and opportunities have always been so important for my family,” she said.

The family went to the airport repeatedly after the Taliban takeover, and finally got a flight to Pakistan via Türkiye.

While in Pakistan, the children could not attend school due to their refugee status. Akbari decided to find a way to continue her education. She discovered online education and took a course to learn how to code. She then launched free virtual STEM classes for Afghan girls and refugees.

“I think finding a way to learn, it gave me hope that I lost after the disruptions in Afghanistan, and I wanted to share that hope with other girls and refugees around me,” she said.

The family spent about a year in Pakistan, applying to refugee programs in different countries and were finally accepted to Canada. They first landed in Thunder Bay but moved to Mississauga in 2023 because they had family in the city.

Everything was unfamiliar in this new city, but Akbari said they had a lot of support from community programs.

Akbari entered Grade 11 in an ESL program at T. L. Kennedy Secondary School.

“High school was a little bit of a shock for me, because the educational system in Afghanistan is very different than the one in Canada,” she said.

The biggest difference was the freedom to choose the courses. In Afghanistan, students took a set program of classes.

“It made it a little bit harder at the beginning, because I was like, ‘OK, what should I pick? There’s so many options,'” she said.

Muzhda Akbari is the founder of CodeGreenAfg, a platform advocating for Afghan girls’ right to an education.

While continuing her studies in Mississauga, Akbari continued to work for free education and developed CodeGreenAfg, a website with online courses, campaigns, resources and programs for girls inside Afghanistan and Afghan refugees.

She says around 2,000 girls have been impacted by the website, and in 2024, she received the prestigious Diana Award for her advocacy impact.

Now, CodeGreenAfg is focusing on a library where girls can access free books in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan.

CodeGreenAfg is focusing on a library where girls can access free books in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan.

Unfortunately, Akbari is not alone. Nearly 118 million people were displaced by conflict and persecution last year, according to the United Nations’ Global Trends report released this month.

Akbari, now a Plan International Canada youth ambassador and education advocate, hopes Canadian youth, newcomers and refugees will support women and girls facing oppression.

Muzhda Akbari chats with Lindsay Glassco, Plan International Canada CEO.

“Working toward change is possible, and creating a better world is our responsibility, and we all can do something small, and through small actions, together, we will create a ripple of change,” she said. “So we hope that we continuously learn about the world around us and raise our voices on behalf of those who are oppressed.”