Idahoans Rally for Afghan Girls' and Women's Education

Najib Amani worked with the U.S. Armed Forces in Afghanistan for eight years in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. While he was flying missions, his wife was serving a mission of her own. Najib’s wife is an educator with a special passion to educate Afghan girls and women.

After the fall of Afghanistan in the 2021, Najib followed orders to evacuate his plane out of the country. The cost of that order was leaving his wife and their two children behind. Najib’s wife kept teaching, in person and on Zoom. Teaching is her life’s mission.

Since 2021, the Taliban has restricted the rights of women and girls to attend school. In March of this year, the Taliban denied education for girls above 6th grade. In December of 2022, the Taliban extended that edict to women and girls attending public and private universities.

Najib brought the Boise community together on Dec. 22 on the steps of the Idaho State Capitol to stand for his wife, daughter, and all women of Afghanistan. He is joining with Afghan and human rights advocates internationally to demand, “Let the Afghan girls go to school!” 

Najib said he does not think it is fair that his son should be able to receive an education while his daughter should stay home, the Idaho Statesman reported, and he will continue to voice his support for women in his home nation, even from afar.

Najib Amani, a veteran pilot of the Afghan Air Force who resettled in Idaho in 2021, leads a rally for Afghan girls' and women's education at the Idaho State Capitol, Dec. 22, 2022.

Hannah Roche and Zahraa Naser, members of the Global Talent team at IOR, take part in a rally supporting Afghan girls' education. Najib Amani, who organized the rally, is a client of Global Talent and is working to become certified as a pilot in the U.S. His wife, daughter and son remain in Afghanistan.