Fereshteh Forough is the founder and CEO of Code to Inspire, the first advanced computer coding school for girls in Afghanistan, which has taught over 550 students. Born a refugee in Iran, Forough moved back to Herat after the fall of the Taliban in 2001, facing a lack of infrastructure, limited water supply, and only a few hours of electricity per day. While studying at the University of Herat, Forough was randomly placed on the new computer science track by the automated course selection system. Refusing to give up the opportunity to go to school, she tackled the subject. Forough obtained her master’s degree in Berlin, became a professor in Herat for three years, and moved to the United States in 2012.
In 2015, she founded Code to Inspire, remotely leading operations and fundraising for an Afghanistan-based school from her Brooklyn apartment. However, she had to halt the in-person gatherings after the Taliban takeover in 2021. The school briefly reopened in 2022, under the condition that boys be admitted, but was closed again in December of that year. Today, students are learning remotely via Google Classroom. While Forough hopes to resume in-person classes soon, her top priority is the safety of her students.
