Established in 2021.

When the Taliban took control in 2021, activist and former teacher from Afghanistan Angela Ghayour was horrified to witness the devastating attack on women’s rights. She received hundreds of requests for help from previous teaching colleagues and students living in her home town of Herat. 

​She decided she had to do something.

​She set up the Herat Online School in August 2021 to ensure that girls from Afghanistan could still access education, in the face of the devastating attack on women’s rights. 
​
Angela formed Afghanistan Education Action in 2023, to incorporate the Herat Online School, teaching informal lessons in Persian, as well as the International School which aims to offer formal qualifications in English for a cohort of students.
​​

Our Goal.

To provide children in Afghanistan - especially girls who are denied their rights - access to free, quality education and pastoral care, and offer them a beacon of hope for the future.  
​​

Working with Children on the Edge.

Children on the Edge, another UK registered charity, have been working alongside Afghanistan Education Action since 2022. They are supporting us as we establish ourselves as newly registered charity and develop our schools; ensuring women and girls in Afghanistan don't miss out on their education. 

Watch our video to find out more.

Our Mission.

Our mission is to ensure access to quality education for women and girls in Afghanistan while championing human rights, democratic values, and cultural advancement. Through education, advocacy, and research, we aim to create positive and lasting change in Afghanistan and beyond.

Our Team.

Angela Ghayour
Founder and CEO

Former teacher, Angela Ghayour is a fearless advocate for education and women's rights. Born in Herat, Afghanistan, her commitment to education began as a child refugee in Iran. She was denied formal schooling, which prompted her to teach basic literacy and numeracy to other refugee children in her garden.

In August 2021, when the Taliban seized control of Herat, Angela founded the Herat Online School. She has since led AEA as CEO to register as a formal charity in the UK and set up the AEA International School.

Despite facing weekly death threats and living in hiding to protect her children, Angela's determination remains unwavering. She believes the future of Afghanistan lies in the hands of its educated girls, not the oppressive Taliban regime.

Angela's courage has not only inspired her students but also garnered international recognition, including being featured by the BBC as one of their 100 Women in 2021. Her tireless work continues to bring hope, and empower women and girls in Afghanistan.

Julie Taylor
Education Manager 

Julie is a fully qualified British teacher with over fifteen years’ experience teaching in top international schools. Creative, professional and caring, she strives to bring out the best academic skills in her students and develop their emotional intelligence, preparing them for a successful future.

She reached out to Angela after watching the news on 15 August 2021 and soon began  teaching English to a small group of eager and dedicated girls and boys from all over Afghanistan.

Now working for AEA as Education Manager, she is proud to be working alongside Angela to create an online international programme for students in Afghanistan who wish to learn in English and, eventually, acquire internationally recognised qualifications. 

Emily Dadson
Acting Company Secretary

Emily is the acting Company Secretary, seconded by Children on the Edge to assist Angela in setting up AEA.  Emily has worked for Children on the Edge, supporting marginalised children around the world for over 20 years, now as their Operations Manager. Emily also worked with The ‘Body Shop’ for 11 years and was secretary to the late Dame Anita Roddick (co-founder of Children on the Edge), before moving into the company’s UK Communications department.
​​
Values have long been the driving force behind Emily’s choice of job roles, never more so than agreeing to support Angela on this incredible mission of enabling thousands of Afghan girls realise their rights to education and freedom of thought. 

​

Laura Blake
​​Chair of Trustees

Laura is the acting Chair of Trustees at AEA. Inspired by Angela's vision, she has been pivotal in supporting the Charity registration process for AEA in 2024.

Laura has worked for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) on international development and humanitarian projects in the Middle East, including education projects; partnering with Crown Agents, UNHCR and Save the Children.

Most recently, Laura worked as Head of Individual Giving at Chichester Festival Theatre.
Laura is also a choir leader, passionate about using singing to support women's health and wellbeing.

​Jill Frampton
Board Member

Jill has volunteered for international charity and AEA partner, ‘Children on the Edge’ for a number of years, helping in the office, at fundraising events, at school assemblies and activities to promote the work of the charity. Before retiring, Jill worked as a teacher, at primary and secondary levels, in English and international schools where she had various posts of responsibility. 
​                                                  
Jill’s passion is for all children to be given the right to education where their confidence and ability can be nurtured, so they can reach their full potential, despite any challenges they might be facing.  She is delighted for the opportunity to support Angela in her goal of making access to education possible for Afghanistani girls, which they so deserve as a basic human right.


​Mandy Fazeli
Board Member

​Mandy founded ‘A More Balanced World’ with an instinct to right a world she recognized as being too skewed to be fair. With a life-long passion for social justice, her goal was to give under-privileged youth a chance to attain an education. 

Putting her humanitarian instincts, multinational perspective, and management background to work, she has helped the organisation gain momentum, giving hope to the disadvantaged, and empowering them to forge a better future.

Prior to 2016, Mandy has also worked as an IT Management professional in a Fortune 500 company. She is an avid traveller and considers herself a global citizen. 

Support us.

As a new and small charity, we need your support. Your donation can ensure that we can continue to provide education, free of charge, to young women and girls in Afghanistan. 


​Volunteer your skills or time.
We are seeking talented and professional individuals or organisations, who share our mission, to support our work. Do you have legal or financial expertise that would be valuable to our Board of Trustees? Are you a Communications or Fundraising professional with time to volunteer? Are you a qualified teacher, keen to educate the women and youth of Afghanistan? We'd love to hear from you!

Press links and articles.
Afghanistan Education Action
​REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1208464