American University Loses US Backing Amid Aid Scrutiny

When a student known as Laila checked her phone for water one night, an email arrived that threatened to close a door she had fought to reopen: the United States is ending financial support for the American University of Afghanistan. The institution stands as one of the last avenues for women in the country to obtain higher education.

A political science and international studies major, Laila studies in secret because the Taliban have seized the campus. She is one of roughly 1,000 students, about three-quarters of whom are women, enrolled in the online program. She joins lectures from home using an alias with her camera off. 'I just know their voices,' she said.

Her enrollment follows years of disruption. She was at another Kabul university in August 2021 with only two exams left when the Taliban returned to power, and after the group banned women's education in December 2022, her degree remained unfinished. She later secured a scholarship to restart, noting, 'Not every girl got that opportunity.' Fear now shapes her routine. Some peers have received threatening calls, and she worries that officials searching her phone might find university emails. 'It's always in the back of my head that maybe tomorrow it's my turn,' she said.

American financial support for the university began in 2006, when former US first lady Laura Bush announced that the United States had committed millions to the institution, stating it would train 'future leaders,' particularly women. Patrick Fine, then Afghanistan mission director at USAID, said some at the agency viewed the proposal as risky and others saw it as a waste of money, but the Bush administration viewed it as a way to stabilize a young democracy and build goodwill for the interim government.

Washington later raised questions about the spending. US inspectors opened a probe into the university's finances in 2016, and by 2018 they stated that poor accounting made it impossible to determine how aid money was used. John Sopko, a former US federal inspector who oversaw the investigation, told DW: 'I was surprised they were still funding AUAF.' This year, the State Department told DW the decision reflected the university's 'history of repeated lack of accountability for millions of American taxpayer dollars.' Fine rejected that explanation as 'smear tactics.' He acknowledged past audits found the university struggling with USAID's extensive rules, but said they 'didn't find major fraud,' and called it a 'worthy investment' because it is one of the few organizations still reaching Afghan women.

The United States is not the sole donor, but it has long paid most of the bills, nearly 90% as of 2018 according to a US report. The State Department said the university is 'free to identify other funders and partners,' so ending American taxpayer money does not necessarily mean the end of its operations. Still, without the $25 million grant that was refused, the university's future is uncertain.

For Laila, the news has been crushing. 'I have lost all my motivation and hope,' she said, adding that each time she prepares for a lecture she wonders whether another will follow. She has barely left her room since learning of the cut. She had expected to have graduated years ago and to be studying for a master's degree abroad. Now she thinks she may find a way in five or ten years.