online education for all

This is SOLAx.

SOLA is proud to launch SOLAx, a landmark initiative that brings accessible online education to every Afghan girl, everywhere on Earth: www.solax.org

What is SOLAx?

SOLAx is a WhatsApp-based online academy. Students can access daily, asynchronous classwork in three languages (English, Pashto, and Dari) by texting the SOLAx chatbot on WhatsApp, and only need a smart phone and a basic cellular connection to participate.

Upon successfully finishing a course, students will receive a certificate of completion from SOLAx. These certificates will be safely secured online and individually marked with digital identifiers, giving each student permanent proof of educational achievement.

SOLAx is open and accessible to anyone who registers, anywhere in the world – but we’ve designed our platform in direct response to the Taliban’s education ban that forbids girls from attending school beyond 6th grade. Our intended audience is Afghan girls worldwide, specifically including the millions of young women within Afghanistan who are past primary school age and who are barred from in-person schooling.

Our tech is egalitarian in design: since SOLAx only requires a smart phone and a basic mobile connection, we open equal access to education for girls from lower-income families and from rural areas. Families can enroll multiple children in different classes from a single shared device.

We reach girls inside their homes, using technology they already possess. They study, and thereby improve their lives and demonstrate to relatives, neighbors, and peers that girls have inherent value as independent beings. Change starts at home, and spirals upward.

Why SOLAx matters.

In Afghanistan in 2021, the number of girls openly attending secondary school was 1.1 million. In 2024, the number of girls openly attending secondary school is 0. The Taliban have raised their pursuit of gender inequality to the level of national policy. They know what educated girls are capable of. And so do we.

SOLAx isn’t a replacement for SOLA. It’s not an equivalent to SOLA, or an equivalent to in-person, in-classroom learning. It’s an alternative for girls whose educational lives are on pause, and maybe have been that way for years. It’s a light of hope and an initial step on a path that leads back to the classroom.

Our mission is to bring quality education to Afghan girls wherever they may be. Our vision is of a global network of sisterhood: a generation of compassionate and confident Afghan women with the leadership skills to rebuild Afghanistan and guide their homeland into a better future.

Learn more, and join SOLAx.

To learn more about SOLAx, and to join our program, visit our dedicated website: www.solax.org

We’re grateful to Meta for partnering with SOLAx, allowing us to use the WhatsApp API to deliver our courses to Afghan girls worldwide. We’re also thankful to the National Geographic Society for supporting our content development.