News & Stories

Architectural heritage like you haven’t seen it before

The shrine of Khwaja Abu Nasr Parsa is a spectacular mosque in Balkh, Afghanistan. Also known as the “Green Mosque” due to the brilliant color of its tiled and painted dome, the intricately decorated building dates to the 16th century. If it were more accessible, the Green Mosque would attract many visitors. But Balkh is […]

Learner in Afghanistan reaches beyond barriers to pursue career in data science

Tahmina S. was a junior studying computer engineering at a top university in Afghanistan when a new government policy banned women from pursuing education. In August 2021, the Taliban prohibited girls from attending school beyond the sixth grade. While women were initially allowed to continue to attend universities, by October 2021, an order from the […]

Migration Summit addresses education and workforce development in displacement

“Refugees can change the world with access to education,” says Alnarjes Harba, a refugee from Syria who recently shared her story at the 2022 Migration Summit — a first-of-its-kind, global convening to address the challenges that displaced communities face in accessing education and employment. At the age of 13, Harba was displaced to Lebanon, where […]

MIT ReACT welcomes first Afghan cohort to its largest-yet certificate program

Through the championing support of the faculty and leadership of the MIT Afghan Working Group convened last September by Provost Martin Schmidt and chaired by Associate Provost for International Activities Richard Lester, MIT has come together to support displaced Afghan learners and scholars in a time of crisis. The MIT Refugee Action Hub (ReACT) has […]

What’s the next chapter in Afghanistan?

After nearly 20 years, the U.S. has withdrawn its troops from Afghanistan, and the Taliban has regained control over the country. In light of those developments, a panel of foreign-policy experts on Tuesday addressed two separate but related questions: Why did the U.S. military action in Afghanistan fall short, and what comes next for the […]

Why soldiers fight

Matthew Cancian concluded his service in the U.S. Marine Corps in 2013, but in some ways he never left his Afghanistan battlefield experience behind. A rising fifth-year doctoral candidate in political science, Cancian researches what motivates people to enlist and to engage in combat. “It could be said that my dissertation is a poorly disguised […]

3 Questions: Fotini Christia on new deal-making in Afghanistan

More than 18 years ago, in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the United States sent troops to Afghanistan with NATO as a measure to protect the U.S. homeland and its allies from the threat of terrorism. Now, the Trump administration hopes to bring an end what is referred to by many as an […]