KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — One after the other, the opportunities vanished. Like so many other Afghan women, Sodaba could do little but watch as her country’s new Taliban government imposed a stranglehold on women’s lives.

The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021 , and quickly set about implementing a dizzying array of restrictions for women: No visiting parks or gyms, no eating in restaurants, no working, except in very few professions.

But one of the cruelest blows for the pharmacology student was the ban on education beyond primary school .

Pushed by necessity, she went online. And there, she found hope: a free computer coding course for women in Afghanistan. Taught in her own language, Dari, by a young Afghan refugee living half a world away, in Greece.

“I believe a per

See Full Page