Decoding Barriers is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering marginalized communities in the tribal areas along the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan to reach their full potential. We partner with local organizations and community leaders to provide a better future for those who have been denied one due to military operations and socio-economic instability.
Empowering Change
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Our Initiatives
​We pursue a multidimensional approach to ensuring underrepresented populations are able to pursue their educational and career ambitions.
Educational Initiatives
Acc​ess to education, particularly in high-growth fields such as STEM, is rare in Tribal Pakistan and Afghanistan. A state of Educational Emergency has been issued in both Pakistan and Afghanistan due to a lack of funding and a shortage of instructors. Approximately 80% of Afghan refugee children living in the Khyber Pass and 44% of children aged 5-16 years in Pakistan do not attend school. Decoding Barriers partners with student organizations in the area to host online courses to bridge the education gap present in these areas.
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Mentorship Programs
The restrictions placed on young women and other marginalized communities in rural Pakistan and Afghanistan prohibit bright minds from pursuing careers in high-growth fields. Women make up approximately 6.5% of the workforce in Afghanistan and 9.4% of the workforce in Peshawar, the largest city located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Minorities who aspire to pursue careers with low minority representation are often discriminated against and lack the crucial support required to continue their professional journey. Decoding Barriers seeks to create inclusive mentorship programs in which minorities can connect with notable minority leaders, create long-lasting bonds with their peers, and become part of a supportive community.
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Resource Distributions
Many of the communities Decoding Barriers engages lack the physical resources required to pursue their education. As many of the communities along the Afghanistan and Pakistan borders are refugee communities, they may additionally lack adequate food supply and shelter. Decoding Barriers collaborates with community leaders to fulfill the basic needs and educational materials their communities require in order to thrive.
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Get to Know Us
Decoding Barriers was founded by female educators hailing from the tribal communities of Afghanistan and Pakistan we seek to serve. Our team has decades of experience working within the human rights and education sectors. Our mission is to develop awareness surrounding the issues affecting these areas and provide support to our communities through our programs.
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