US State Dept blocks $25M grant for American University of Afghanistan

The US State Department has withheld a $25 million grant for the American University of Afghanistan. The decision leaves the institution without its main source of financial support. A student named Laila learned of the cut by email on October 23. She studies political science and international studies at the university. Her name has been changed for safety reasons.

AUAF enrolls about 1,000 students. Approximately three-quarters of them are women. The Taliban seized the campus in 2021. Students now attend lectures through an online program. They join from home using aliases and keep their cameras off. Laila said she knows her classmates only by their voices.

The university opened in 2006. Former First Lady Laura Bush announced US funding for the project. She described the goal as training future leaders, particularly women. Patrick Fine, who served as the USAID Afghanistan mission director, said the Bush administration viewed the school as a way to stabilize a young democracy. He noted that some agency staff considered the idea risky.

Washington officials began questioning the university's finances in 2016. US inspectors opened an investigation. By 2018, they reported that poor accounting made it difficult to track how aid money was spent. John Sopko, a former US federal inspector who oversaw the probe, told DW that he was surprised the US continued funding the school.

The State Department press office told DW the decision reflected a history of repeated lack of accountability for American taxpayer dollars. Fine rejected that explanation as smear tactics. He acknowledged that earlier audits found the university struggled with USAID rules. He said the audits did not find major fraud. He called the university a worthy investment because it reaches Afghan women.

The United States has provided nearly 90% of the university's funding since 2018. The State Department said the university is free to identify other funders and partners. The refusal of the $25 million grant creates uncertainty for the institution. Laila said she has lost her motivation and hope. She has barely left her room since learning of the cut.

Laila began her studies at AUAF after winning a scholarship in 2022. She had started at another university in Kabul in August 2021. The Taliban banned women's education in December 2022. She worries that officials could search her phone for university emails. She said officials have entered her home several times to search family belongings.