Aqeela Asifi

Aqeela Asifi is an Afghan woman teacher who has educated thousands of refugee children in Mianwali, Pakistan.[1]

Aqeela Asifi
Born1966
Afghanistan
CitizenshipAfghan
OccupationTeacher
Known foreducating thousands of refugee children in Pakistan
Notable workStarting the Community Girls Model School No 2 in Kot Chandna
AwardsNansen Refugee Award

Education

Asifi trained in Afghanistan as a teacher of history and geography.[2]

Career
Asifi accepting the Nansen award in 2015

Asifi was forced to leave Afghanistan when the Taliban took over in 1992. When she arrived as a refugee at the Kot Chandna camp in Mianwali, there were no schools for refugee children. Asifi set up a school in a borrowed tent. As of 2017, there are nine schools in the camp with over 1,500 students.[3] Several of these schools are also attended by Afghan refugee girls.[4]

In 2015, Asifi was awarded the Nansen Refugee Award for her efforts in providing Afghan refugee children with an education. She has used most of her US$100,000[5] Nansen prize money to build a new school.[6] The Award honours extraordinary service to refugees.[7]

In 2017, the Community Girls Model School No 2 in Kot Chandna, started by Asifi, was recognised by the Department of Education as a higher-secondary school. It is now the first refugee school in the Punjab to be affiliated with a Board of Education.[8]

Over a period of 23 years, Asifi has taught more than 1,000 girls. In 2020 another 1,500 refugee boys and girls were enrolled in six schools.[9]

References
  1. For refugees, education is as essential as shelter The Guardian Retrieved 24 March 2017
  2. A life of teaching Afghan refugee girls BBC Retrieved 24 March 2017
  3. The Global Teacher Prize website Archived 2017-06-26 at the Wayback Machine Global Teacher Prize Retrieved 24 March 2017
  4. Amid Mass Returns, a Teacher’s Hopes for Refugee Girls in Afghanistan Archived 14 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine News Deeply Retrieved 24 March 2017
  5. Pakistani Teacher Aqeela Asifi ranked among Top Ten Teachers of the World Daily Times Retrieved 24 March 2017
  6. Educating Afghan refugees in Pakistan UCA News Retrieved 24 March 2017
  7. UNHCR names Afghan refugee teacher Aqeela Asifi its 2015 Nansen Refugee Award winner UNHCR Retrieved 24 March 2017
  8. "First ever refugee school in Punjab formally upgraded, affiliated with board - Pakistan". ReliefWeb. 26 October 2017. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  9. "Pakistan, world's third-largest refugee-hosting country, renews commitment to cause". Pakistan – Gulf News. 20 June 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
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