Digital resources in the Social Sciences and Humanities OpenEdition Our platforms OpenEdition Books OpenEdition Journals Hypotheses Calenda Libraries OpenEdition Freemium Follow us

Afghan Women’s Education: The Present Reality

Last week, I attended the third anniversary celebration of Roshan Afghanistan Online University (RAO) at Campus Condorcet in Paris. Established in December 2022, RAO was created to provide free access to online higher education in response to the Taliban authorities’ ban on women’s university education announced on 20 December 2021.

The event featured speakers from international and French governmental organisations, NGOs, and RAO members, who reflected on the university’s past, present, and future. A representative from Right to Learn Afghanistan emphasised that more than 200 similar initiatives have been launched since the Taliban’s takeover.

During my time in Australia, I became aware of the Woman Online University, which operates on the same principles. I was fortunate to meet one of its goodwill ambassadors, who passionately advocated for the university’s mission and work.

Running RAO, however, is not without risk. According to the American NGO Scholars at Risk and its Academic Freedom Monitoring Project, RAO’s Vice-Chancellor of Student Affairs was arrested and interrogated by Taliban forces in January 2024 over the university’s activities. His forced detention led to his resignation, as well as that of several other members of the university’s leadership.

Veronika Durin-Hornyik, PhD

Illustration: Photo taken by me at the NSW State Library in Sydney in January 2025, featuring a children’s book that explores the fate of girls’ education following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in 1996.

Utrecht Summer School on Advocacy for Academic Freedom

I attended the first Utrecht Summer School on Advocacy for Academic Freedom, held from 18 to 22 August 2025. Scholars and representatives of international, European and national organisations discussed the topic and its theorisation, as well as its practical and international aspects in an increasingly fragmented world.

There were also intriguing presentations on higher education programmes for displaced persons, which provided valuable insights into the opportunities available to those seeking to continue their education in this field.

The summer school was developed by Ruhr University Bochum, Utrecht University and other partners from the Utrecht Network and the Scholars at Risk network.

Veronika Durin-Hornyik, PhD

The Cold War Workshop at the Australian Catholic University

It was a privilege for me to participate in The Cold War Workshop organised by the Australian Catholic University on 24–25 July 2025. Funded by the Australian Research Council, the workshop focused on the theme of ‘Migrants and their Secrets’.

Distinguished Australian historians presented their research on Russian and Central and Eastern European refugees in post-war Australia. Several of the historians shared the personal stories of their relatives.

My own contribution aimed to demonstrate that, during the Cold War, it was not only migrants and exiles who kept secrets in the free world, but also exile organisations, particularly those funded by the CIA. I aimed to demonstrate both the transmission of the United States’ liberation strategy for captive European nations to Australia during the early Cold War via psychological warfare (i.e. anti-communist organisations secretly operated by the CIA or inspired by American initiatives), and the role of actors and networks in this process. Secondly, I examined the Australian government’s perception of American-backed exile organisations operating within its territory, as well as its diplomatic responses to anti-communist advocacy in the 1950s and 1960s.

My latest publication, in which I analysed American-funded exile organisations in post-war France and their impact on French diplomacy, inspired me to investigate the same topic in the Australian context. My acquaintance with Maya Cranitch AM, the granddaughter of the Hungarian exiled diplomat Gyorgy Barcza, who is based in Sydney, also inspired this research and provided me with valuable sources.

A compendium of these studies is planned for publication.

Veronika Durin-Hornyik, PhD

Refugee Camp in My Neighbourhood

This year, Refugee Week in Australia was held from 15 to 21 June 2025. To mark the occasion, I visited the Refugee Camp in My Neighbourhood project — a powerful, immersive experience that offers visitors a confronting glimpse into the journey of people forced to flee their homes. The guided tours are led by individuals who have themselves experienced forced migration, adding a deeply personal and authentic perspective.

The project was created by Adama Kamara, a community development practitioner and the Deputy CEO of Refugee Council of Australia. In an interview, she shared the personal inspiration behind the exhibition: having fled war in Sierra Leone with her family, she eventually resettled in Australia due to her father’s university studies.

Now celebrating its 10th anniversary, the moving exhibition has achieved remarkable success in raising awareness and fostering empathy within communities across Sydney.

Veronika Durin-Hornyik, PhD

“It’s a life”: What it means to be supported as an asylum seeker?

The greeting card in the photo was designed by a young girl whose dream is to continue her interrupted studies in Australia after being forcibly displaced. The Asylum Seekers Centre (ASC) recognised her talent and printed a series of cards and wrapping paper that she designed. These items are for sale online. All profits go towards supporting people seeking asylum in the Greater Sydney community.

This young artist explained her inspiration as follows: “I made some vector illustrations about how the life inside the ASC. It’s one place that ‘make a life’, different people enjoying many activities in their journey to start a new life. I want to add a quote about that in the design like ‘It’s a life’.”

I have the chance to know this young asylum seeker and advise her on study plans and university applications. Her card is a reminder of the resilience and hope of forcibly displaced people arriving in their new country, and that education plays a crucial role in rebuilding their lives.

Veronika Durin-Hornyik, PhD

Pilot project for refugee access to higher education in Australia

This week marks the official launch of the Refugee Student Settlement Pathway by Refugee Education Australia. In the first phase of this pilot project, 20 scholarships will be awarded to refugees selected from applicants in Malaysia, India and Thailand.


The RSSP will provide students with the opportunity to study in fields such as nursing, civil engineering, technology, and business, with support from local campus support groups. Participants will arrive on permanent humanitarian visas, giving them access to domestic student places and HECS, and helping them to rebuild their lives and contribute to the Australian workforce.


I wrote about this pilot project in my article published last July, which has now been approved by the Australian Government and will be implemented in 2025.

Veronika Durin-Hornyik, PhD

Pathways to climate careers for displaced women in Australia

I attended the launch of a pioneering programme yesterday at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney, where I’m a visiting fellow researching higher education in the context of forced migration.

JEINA (Justice Inclusion Access) is a pilot project created at UNSW last July, which aims to create an inclusive and connected ecosystem of support for UNSW women students from forced migration backgrounds. When fully implemented, JEINA will be the first programme of its kind in an Australian university.  

To this end, a first partnership was officially launched yesterday between JEINA and Trailblazer for Recycling and Clean Energy to provide pathways to climate careers through scholarships and empowerment initiatives – Enterprise Academic, Higher Degree Research Programme and Work Integrated Learning (WIL) – specifically for women from forced migration backgrounds. These opportunities are designed to provide pathways to leadership, research and practical experience in the climate sector.

Learn more about this event on LinkedIn.

Veronika Durin-Hornyik, PhD

One Run, One Day, One World, One Team of Equals

In solidarity with forcibly displaced people, it was great to take part in the Global Solidarity Run with the Asylum Seekers Centre at Parramatta Park in Sydney on 19 October, organised by Sanctuary Runners in Ireland, in partnership with the Refugee Council of Australia, Amnesty International, the Irish Consulate in Australia and SSI.

I participated in the event with staff members from the Asylum Seekers Centre of Sydney, where I volunteer as a university advisor, helping people with their university and scholarship applications. The photo was taken by Eloisa from the ASC.

Veronika Durin-Hornyik, PhD

Lebanon’s universities during the Israel-Hamas war and the American University of Beirut

The unprecedented attack on southern Israel by the militant Islamist group Hamas on 7 October 2023 triggered the war in the Gaza Strip. Gaza is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories and is ruled by Hamas. In retaliation, Israel attacked Gaza with the declared aim of eradicating Hamas. Since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war, more than 40,000 people are reported to have been killed: 41,431 Palestinians and 1,706 Israelis. Israel has also been accused of deliberately targeting universities and academics in Gaza as part of a strategy branded “educide”.

In response to the Israeli attack on Gaza, Hezbollah (Lebanese Shia Muslim political party and armed group) fired on Israeli positions, in solidarity with the Palestinians. Since then, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have retaliated with air strikes, tank and artillery fire against Hezbollah positions in Lebanon. Since 20 September 2024, the IDF has carried out hundreds of air strikes in Lebanon as part of a new offensive operation.

More than 560 people have been killed from Israeli bombings in Lebanon since 23 September 2024—including Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah—giving the country its highest daily death toll since the end of the 1975-90 civil war. Among the dead were university students. Abbas Al-Halabi, Lebanon’s caretaker Minister of Education and Higher Education, announced the closure of all state and private universities in southern Lebanon on 23 September, and in the entire country later in the week. The extension of the closure until 6 October was announced last Saturday.

The American University of Beirut (AUB) has suspended all educational activities but has allowed access to its libraries, workspaces, meeting rooms, research labs, and athletic facilities. The Provost’s announcement reads: “The mission of the American University of Beirut is to educate, heal, and serve. Current circumstances have strengthened our resolve to continue to deliver on this mission.

Founded in 1866 as a medical college, AUB is an inter-ethnic and inter-religious academic institution based on the American liberal arts model of higher education. During the Second World War, soldiers of the Polish II Corps—who, after being evacuated from the USSR, crossed the Middle East to defeat the Axis powers in Italy—became acquainted with the AUB. After the war, it inspired them to create an American university in Western Europe to save central and eastern European intelligentsia from the destructive consequences of sovietisation. Joseph Czapski, on behalf of the Polish exile group Kultura, wrote to the American intellectual James Burnham on 23 September 1948:

“(…) This is what gave us the idea for an American University in Europe for displaced youth and for those fleeing from behind the Iron Curtain. Allow me to send you the project. I will not forget the impression I had when I left Soviet Russia and discovered an admirable and exemplary American hospital in Mashhad on the border of Afghanistan, but even more, we admired the American University in Beirut where Arabs, Jews, and Poles could study freely. Remember that Central Europe is moving towards barbarization. All the elites were massacred or deported by either the Germans or Russians, and the youth who are eager to learn only receive an education distorted by Soviet propaganda.”

This American university would become later the Free Europe University in Exile (1951-1958). For further reading on this, here is my article.

Veronika Durin-Hornyik, PhD

How can we preserve the human capital of countries affected by forced migration?

I was delighted to publish a paper on Refugee Research Online (RRO), an Australian research platform dedicated to the study of forced migration. My paper discusses current international policies and ongoing initiatives in Australia to provide refugees and asylum seekers with access to higher education in host countries.

It argues that education is an important tool not only to protect and empower displaced people in host countries, but also to produce future leaders and peace-builders who can play a crucial role in rebuilding their countries of origin. For the same reason, support should also be provided to academic institutions affected by forced migration in conflict zones. This is a burning issue, as the number of people displaced worldwide is increasing. The vast majority of displaced people remain in countries neighbouring their countries of origin. The international community must therefore find global solutions to local problems.


I’m grateful to Sally Baker of the Australian National University for suggesting my paper for RRO and to the editor, Phillipa Bellemore of the University of Melbourne, for the opportunity to publish it as a Visiting Fellow at the University of New South Wales.

Veronika Durin-Hornyik, PhD