Afghan University Funding: US Withholds $25 Million Grant

The American University of Afghanistan will no longer receive a $25 million grant from the United States. This sum constituted nearly 90% of the institution's funding as of 2018. The State Department confirmed the withdrawal, citing a history of repeated lack of accountability for American taxpayer dollars. The decision leaves the university, which employs roughly 1,000 staff and students, in financial limbo.

About three-quarters of AUAF students are women. The Taliban seized the campus after returning to power in August 2021. Women now attend lectures online from their homes, often using aliases and keeping cameras off to avoid detection. Laila, a political science student in her mid-twenties, joined this secret cohort after winning a scholarship. She studies from home, identifying classmates by their voices alone.

Laila’s academic path began before the Taliban's ban on women's education in December 2022. She was at another Kabul university with two exams remaining when the ban took effect. Her degree remained unfinished until she secured the AUAF scholarship. She noted that not every girl had that second chance.

Security concerns shape the lives of these students. Laila receives threatening calls and messages from peers and authorities. Taliban officials have searched her home multiple times for university correspondence. She fears a phone search could reveal her enrollment. Officials entered her family's residence several times to inspect belongings, she said.

The university opened in 2006 with initial support from former US first lady Laura Bush. Bush announced the US commitment to train future leaders, particularly women. Patrick Fine, then mission director at USAID, described the project as risky but a chance to stabilize a young democracy. USAID is now defunct.

Washington later scrutinized the university's finances. US inspectors launched an investigation in 2016. By 2018, they reported that poor accounting made it impossible to track exactly how aid money was spent. John Sopko, a former federal inspector who oversaw the probe, expressed surprise that funding continued despite these findings.

Fine rejected the State Department's explanation as smear tactics. He acknowledged that audits found the university struggled with USAID's rules. However, he stated that investigators did not find major fraud. He called AUAF a worthy investment because it remains one of the few organizations reaching Afghan women.

The State Department said the university is free to identify other funders and partners. Ending American taxpayer money does not automatically end operations. However, without the refused $25 million grant, the university's future is uncertain. The institution must find new sources of revenue to maintain its online program.

For Laila, the news has crushed her motivation. She wonders if another lecture will follow each time she prepares for class. She has barely left her room since learning of the cut. She had expected to graduate years ago and pursue a master's degree abroad. Now she considers finding a way to continue in five or ten years.