Mursal Qaisari: The Afghan Girl Who Refused to Stop Learning

Fareena Abbas 

Islamabad: When the Taliban returned to power in 2021, they promised reform — respect for women’s rights, opportunities for education, and no return to the past.

But within months, those promises unraveled. Schools and universities were closed to girls, women were forced out of workplaces, and dreams built on years of learning crumbled overnight.

Amid this darkness, one young woman refused to surrender. 

Mursal Qaisari, born in Jawzjan and raised in Faryab, became one of the last Afghan girls to complete her schooling before the Taliban banned women from higher education. 

A graduate of Gauhar Shah Begum High School, Mursal watched as universities that once welcomed both women and men turned into male-only institutions. 

“We knew this was coming,” she said quietly. “My mother had warned me what Taliban rule looked like. Still, it hurt to see it happen again.”

Determined not to let her education end, Mursal began teaching English online through a private organization while organizing small seminars for other girls who shared her thirst for learning. She applied for scholarships abroad, winning one from a Gulf state that she could not use due to visa restrictions. 

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But her persistence paid off: in 2024, she received offers from universities in Iran, Kazakhstan, and Pakistan. She chose Pakistan, winning the Allama Muhammad Iqbal Scholarship with the help of the Higher Education Commission (HEC). 

Today, she studies International Relations at Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad — a symbol of what resilience can achieve.

Mursal says she chose International Relations to understand the global system that shapes her country’s fate. “I want to learn how international institutions work so that I can raise my voice for Afghan girls,” she explains. 

Even from exile, she speaks out for women back home, using every platform available to tell the world that Afghan women want only one thing: the right to study and work within Islamic principles.

Her argument is simple yet powerful. “Islam encourages education for all,” she says, citing the examples of Hazrat Aisha (RA) — one of the greatest scholars of Islam — and Hazrat Khadija (RA), a successful businesswoman. 

“If they could learn and lead, why can’t Afghan girls?”

But life in Pakistan has not been easy. She faced a language barrier, loneliness, and the emotional strain of being far from her family. The Taliban’s mahram rule, requiring women to travel with a male guardian, made even short visits home impossible. Yet she found strength in her purpose — and in helping others. 

Mursal encouraged her younger sister to apply for the same scholarship, and now her sister is studying Business Administration at FAST University in Pakistan.

For Mursal, education is not a personal pursuit; it’s a mission. “I’m not here just for myself,” she says. “I’m here for all the girls who couldn’t come.” She remains deeply aware that Afghanistan’s crisis extends beyond classrooms.

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With women banned from work, many families have lost their livelihoods. Forced marriages and child marriages are on the rise, and some families have resorted to desperate measures — selling children or forcing women to work in secret to survive.

The exclusion of women has not only shattered lives but also crippled Afghanistan’s economy. Analysts estimate that cutting women out of the workforce could cause a significant drop in GDP.

 “If the Taliban truly wish to build an Islamic society,” Mursal says, “they should create separate, safe institutions for women, invest in online education, and invite female scholars from across the Muslim world.”

She also calls on the international community to act. “Scholarships, online learning opportunities, and diplomatic pressure can make a real difference,” she insists. “The world must not forget Afghan women.”

Despite all she has endured, Mursal’s optimism remains unshaken. She believes that education is the first step toward justice, dignity, and freedom. She dreams of returning to Afghanistan one day — but only if women are again allowed to learn, work, and live with respect.

“I will go back,” she says, “when Afghan girls can walk into a university without fear — and when knowledge, not silence, defines our future.”