By Muska Safi and Roshan Noorzai
VOA News
January 27, 2025

WASHINGTON — It took Susan Salih about eight hours to travel from Kabul, Afghanistan, to Peshawar, Pakistan, to take a scholarship exam the Pakistani government offers to Afghan students.

Salih, 25, and a group of other young Afghan women who took the exam at the Institute of Management Sciences in Peshawar told VOA that despite being able to take the test online, they traveled, accompanied by family members, to sit for the exam in person “to not miss the opportunity.”

“I hope this will pay off at least for those girls who now have the chance [to pursue their higher education],” said Salih, who could not pursue her dream of a post-graduate degree in Afghanistan after the Taliban banned women from attending universities in 2022.

Pakistan’s Higher Education Commission said about 5,000 young women were among 21,000 applicants for the 2,000 scholarships announced for Afghan students.

These scholarships are part of the 4,500 Allama Muhammad Iqbal Scholarships for Afghan Students, the commission said.

The Pakistan government said the undergraduate and postgraduate scholarships are fully funded, covering tuition fees, hostel dues, and living, book and travel allowances.

Tests for the scholarships took place in-person and online on Saturday and Sunday in Peshawar and Quetta.

Muhammad Waqar Khan, senior project manager at the Higher Education Commission, said students will be “short-listed” for scholarships based on merit.

“After this [the tests], we will conduct interviews” with those students, Khan said.

Pakistani officials earlier told VOA on the condition of anonymity that the Taliban agreed to let female students pursue higher education in Pakistan, provided that their male guardians are granted visas to accompany them.

But the Taliban, who seized power of Afghanistan in 2021, denied Monday that they reached any “conditional agreement” regarding the scholarships.

The Taliban have “no agreement with Pakistan or any other country regarding scholarships for girls. … Such unfounded claims are propaganda by certain malicious groups against the Islamic Emirate,” said a statement posted on the Taliban’s Ministry of Higher Education website.

The Taliban banned women from traveling long distances without a chaperone, working with the government and nongovernment organizations, and going to public baths, beauty salons and public parks.

Pakistan’s Higher Education Commission said the scholarships aim to “strengthen [the] bilateral relationship” between the two countries.

Salih said these scholarships offer Afghan women hope.

“We want to be a beacon of hope for those still in Afghanistan,” said Salih, adding that “even in tough times and with many limitations, there is always hope and a path forward.”

Ayaz Gul contributed to this report.