Shabana Basij-Rasikh

Shabana Basij-Rasikh is an Afghan educator and the co-founder and president of the School of Leadership, Afghanistan (SOLA), a boarding school focused on educating Afghan girls. She has been a prominent advocate for girls’ education and has spoken internationally about the barriers Afghan girls face in accessing schooling. Basij-Rasikh has shared her experiences and SOLA’s mission in a widely viewed TED Talk on educating Afghan girls. Through her leadership, she has helped build educational opportunities aimed at developing young women as future leaders, emphasizing academic rigor, community responsibility, and the transformative power of education.