The Washington Post names Shabana Basij-Rasikh a contributor to Global Opinions

Posted

The Washington Post announced that Shabana Basij-Rasikh has joined its Global Opinions section as a contributing columnist. Basij-Rasikh, co-founder and president of the School of Leadership, Afghanistan (SOLA), will write about the ways the Taliban government is reshaping Afghanistan, the new Afghan diaspora, and girls’ education around the world, among other issues.

As the Taliban recaptured Kabul, Basij-Rasikh helped nearly 100 SOLA students, along with many staff and their family members, leave Afghanistan for Rwanda, where they’ve begun a study abroad program and resumed their schooling. She shared this experience in her first column for The Post.

“In her first piece, Shabana urged all of us: ‘Don’t look away from Afghan girls,’” said Fred Hiatt, editorial page editor. “Her luminous writing will make sure we cannot look away as she offers us insights into Afghanistan’s evolution following the U.S. withdrawal.”

Basij-Rasikh was born and raised in Kabul and graduated from Middlebury College in Vermont. While at Middlebury in 2008, she co-founded SOLA. Until one month ago, it prospered in Kabul as Afghanistan’s only boarding school for girls. In 2019, Basij-Rasikh was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list as a social entrepreneur for her work in promoting education for girls.

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here