Malika Amini, a member of the Hazara community, one of the most persecuted groups in Afghanistan, is a female teacher living under Taliban rule.

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Being the first in her family to attend school, Malika has served for the past three years as an English teacher. After the Taliban takeover in August 2021, Malika was forced to end her undergraduate education because of her gender and began resisting by organizing peaceful protests and initiating online teaching for girls who no longer could legally access education. Other achievements include working as a volunteer vaccinator in her community, as well as a peace ambassador for a youth group calling for a peace resolution between the Taliban and the former government. Malika plans to complete her undergraduate degree through Jesuit Worldwide Learning in 2024.

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For her fellowship, Malika will launch Wings of Knowledge School, which aims to empower Afghan girls by providing online education in English, business life skills, leadership, and women’s empowerment to low-income girls in her region. Malika will conduct community outreach to identify girls that are most in need, provide them with funds to cover Internet costs and recruit other teachers to scale up her educational initiative. In the long term, Malika aspires to be at the forefront of the fight for social justice and women's rights in Afghanistan and to grow Wings of Knowledge School.