Tech Women: Ex-Refugee Fereshteh Forough Teaches Afghan Girls Coding

Nothing is more heartening than an empowered woman who ardently believes in elevating the status of other women by working towards their development. One such wonder woman is Fereshteh Forough from Afghanistan. Her brainchild ‘Code to Inspire’ is the first coding school for girls in Afghanistan that aims to educate girls with in-demand programming skills, empower them to add unique value to their communities, and inspire them to strive for financial and social independence.

"We not only teach our girls certain skills, but we also want to bring a social impact to the community," - Fereshteh Forough 

Childhood and Education

• Fereshteh Forough was born as a refugee in Iran during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. She got her high school degree in Iran.
•  In 2002, one year after the Taliban regime collapsed, they shifted to their home city of Herat, Afghanistan.
• She received her bachelor’s in computer science degree in Afghanistan.
• Next, she went to Germany for her master’s in computer science from the Technical University of Berlin.
• Then, she taught as a computer science professor in Afghanistan for three years.
• It was her own struggle to get educated as a refugee and a female student in a technical field that compelled her to start ‘Code to Inspire’ that’s now transforming lives around.
• She was also a 2013 TED Talks speaker.

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"Women are very limited to their hometowns and mobility is a big issue. If you know how to code, you can work online," - Fereshteh Forough 

Vision

She believes that teaching coding to students in Afghanistan is an excellent way to financially empower women without requiring them to travel or find a job. This will, in turn, enhance their status within the family.

Fereshteh is striving towards imparting technical literacy to young women in Afghanistan. Hoping to benefit more and more girls, she is looking forward to expanding her coding school to other cities. She also aspires to create a robust professional network of women in IT who can support and help each other.

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