Matiullah Wesa

Matiullah Wesa (born 1992 or 1993) is an Afghan girl's education advocate and the founder of The Pen Path organisation.

Matiullah Wesa
Born1992 or 1993
Maruf District, Kandahar, Afghanistan
OrganizationThe Pen Path
Known forEducation activism

Early life and education

Wesa was born in 1992 or 1993 and grew up in the Maruf District of Kandahar.[1] Both his father and his grandfather were community elders and his father opened Marouf's first ever girls school in 2003.[2]

In 2002,[3] when he was aged nine, the Taliban burnt his school to the ground, prompting the family to relocate to Kabul. He completed his higher education in India, specialising in human rights.[1]

Advocacy

In 2009,[2] Wesa founded The Pen Path volunteer organisation[4] and became one of the most notable activists for girls education in Afghanistan.[5]

In 2016, he organised a book donation drive to create libraries in the provinces of Kunar, Helmand Kandahar, and Uruzgan. In 2017, he travelled around Afghanistan advocating for schools to reopen.[4]

On 27 March, 2023, the Taliban arrested Wesa[6] in Kabul and raided his house.[5] Hamid Karzai, the former president, expressed sadness at his arrest and called for his release.[6] The United Nations called for clarification about the reasons for his arrest and for the sharing of information about his location.[7]

On 26 October, 2023, Wesa was released from a Taliban prison after seven months of incarceration. [8]

See also

References
  1. "Afghan Man Fights for Women's Education". VOA News. 21 April 2022. Archived from the original on 2023-03-30. Retrieved 2023-03-30.
  2. Ahuja, Namrata Biji (20 Aug 2021). "An Afghan NGO is determined to educate girls despite Taliban's return". The Week (Indian magazine). Archived from the original on 2023-03-30. Retrieved 2023-03-30.
  3. McCarthy, Joe (10 Jan 2018). "His School Was Burned Down. Now He's Bringing Education to Thousands of Girls in Afghanistan". Global Citizen (in French). Archived from the original on 2023-03-30. Retrieved 2023-03-30.
  4. Qazi, Shereena (23 Mar 2017). "1,100 Afghan children a day 'to drop out of school'". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 2023-03-30. Retrieved 2023-03-30.
  5. "Afghanistan: Girls' education activist arrested by Taliban". BBC News. 2023-03-28. Archived from the original on 2023-03-29. Retrieved 2023-03-30.
  6. Kaker, Shafi; Ala, Hande Atay; Regan, Helen (2023-03-29). "Taliban arrests prominent girls' education activist as repressive clampdown continues". CNN. Archived from the original on 2023-03-29. Retrieved 2023-03-30.
  7. Kumar, Ruchi; Graham-Harrison, Emma (2023-03-28). "Founder of Afghan girls' school project arrested in Kabul". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2023-03-29. Retrieved 2023-03-30.
  8. "Afghan girls rights activist Matiullah Wesa released by Taliban". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2023-10-27.
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