Shabana Basij-Rasikh, an Afghan educationist and Oxford alumna, has donated $2.5 million (approximately Rs 23.76 crore) to fund an annual scholarship for Afghan women pursuing a master’s degree at the University of Oxford.
The scholarship will cover full course fees, provide a stipend towards living expenses and offer a pre-travel grant to help recipients meet expenses before arriving in Oxford.
The scholarship will cover full course fees, provide a stipend towards living expenses and offer a pre-travel grant to help recipients meet expenses before arriving in Oxford. Basij-Rasikh is a prominent advocate for girls’ education. Through initiatives such as its Academic Futures scholarship programme, the university provides financial support to students who have faced barriers to higher education, including refugees and people affected by displacement.
She co-founded the School of Leadership, Afghanistan (SOLA), at the age of 18. She later studied at Oxford under the Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Scholarships and Leadership Programme and completed a Master of Public Policy in 2019-20. Oxford was also recognised as a University of Sanctuary in 2023, reflecting its commitment to supporting people affected by conflict and persecution, the university added.
The scholarship will be open to women of first- or second-generation Afghan descent who meet Oxford’s academic admission requirements and receive an offer for an eligible master’s course, according to the university’s official press release. The university said the new scholarship reflects Oxford’s wider commitment to expanding access to graduate education for talented students from under-represented and at-risk backgrounds.
