Local Program To Continue Helping Women In Afghanistan After Taliban Takeover

The Institute for the Economic Empowerment of Women has been working to help women socially, politically and economically in Afghanistan for the past 15 years.

They said the recent change of power is concerning, but their mission to help Afghan women doesn't change.

Terry Neese with IEEW said they've been working around the clock since the Taliban took power.

“We have a leader in Afghanistan that has been with us for 15 years. She got back into the United States, by the time we got everything put together in terms of visas and trying to get women onto air flights, the (Afghan) president had fled the country, the airports had closed, the (U.S.) embassy had closed,” Neese said.

With visas in high demand, Neese said they've reached out to several resources to help women wanting to leave.

The nonprofit has provided around 600 Afghan women with courses and other opportunities to help grow their businesses. Neese said she's still in contact with some.

The Taliban recently held a news conference and encouraged women to return to work. Neese said right now, they're still adjusting to the many changes, but she encourages them to not stop.

“They need to continue to use their curriculum, that they've had over this past year and the last 15 years,” Neese said.

The program's next round of classes in Afghanistan are still scheduled to begin in January.