Name: How I stopped the Taliban from shutting down my school
Uploaded: 2015-09-21T15:42:30Z
Duration: 16 min 54 s
Description: When the Taliban closed all the girls' schools in Afghanistan, Sakena Yacoobi set up new schools, in secret, educating thousands of women and men. In this fierce, funny talk, she tells the jaw-dropping story of two times when she was threatened to stop teaching -- and shares her vision for rebuilding her beloved country.

When the Taliban closed all the girls' schools in Afghanistan, Sakena Yacoobi set up new schools, in secret, educating thousands of women and men. In this fierce, funny talk, she tells the jaw-dropping story of two times when she was threatened to stop teaching -- and shares her vision for rebuilding her beloved country.

How I stopped the Taliban from shutting down my school

Education gave hope and dignity to Afghan communities even as war and loss surrounded them. When girls’ schools were banned, secret classrooms and underground teachers empowered 15,000 children in a single year. Facing threats from the Taliban, creative negotiation and resilience kept the doors of learning open. Real transformation began when both women and men gained the chance to learn and to teach.