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In March 2022, a mere seven months after the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan, second level education was banned for girls, leaving around 1.1 million of them without access to formal schooling.

Then in December that year, all female students were refused access to universities and colleges. But across the country, Afghan women and girls are fighting back, and defying the Taliban government by continuing their education in secret.

Founded and, for the most part, staffed by women, secret schools have started to emerge from the shadows, offering online and in-person classes to those brave enough to attend.

Â鶹ԼÅÄ Afghan broadcast journalist, Sana Safi, takes us inside two such secret schools, and into the hearts and minds of those who, despite the risks, refuse to be denied an education – and the possibility of a brighter future.

(Photo: A girls school in Kabul in March 2022 on the last day before the Taliban education ban came into force Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

Presenter: Sana Safi
Producer: Paul Connolly
Editor: Simon Watts
Production co-ordinator: Debbie Richford
Sound engineers: Neil Churchill, Gareth Jones and Graham Puddifoot