Roger Williams

“Our safety was never something assured,” she said.

Nor was her education. In her earliest years, Mohammady lived in a small village in Nuristan, a remote province where there were no schools, she said.

When she was about 5 years old, she left home when her family sent her to a boarding school in Kabul, she said. Later, Mohammady eventually had an opportunity to attend Roger Williams University in Bristol, R.I., where she graduated in May with a master of business administration degree, a year after completing her undergraduate degree in international business in just three years.

Still, as Mohammady was pursuing her degrees, education opportunities for women and girls in Afghanistan came to a halt. After it seized control of the country in 2021, the Taliban banned girls from attending school beyond the primary level.

Now, Mohammady is trying to help them. With a friend, Mohammady started an online academy, Shine Nova, last month to teach girls above the age of 15 the English language and about business, including the stock market. So far, the free program has about 25 students, and girls learn about the academy through “word of mouth, personal networks, and social media,” she said.

“Education has changed my life, and that’s why I’m so passionate about creating opportunities for others, especially girls who are denied access to education,” Mohammady said. “And I hope my story reminds people that when someone is given a chance, they can not only transform their own future but also help transform the lives of others.”

Mohammady spoke about what drove her to pursue her business degrees, how she is trying to help women and girls in Afghanistan, and the message she shared during her commencement address last month:

Q. Why did you want to study in America?

Mohammady: I always wanted to study in America. I loved it because since I was a child, I had tutors from the US to learn English, and that’s how I was always inspired by them to come and continue my college here.

What was your motivation in pursuing the degrees that you earned? Why study business?

In my village, there is no school — nothing there. Life is very basic over there. But people are so talented, especially women, because they work at home, they work outside of the home as well, and they have so many different talents that I was like, OK, one day I’m going to study something related to business … so then I can use [that] knowledge and somehow give back to those people.

What do you want Americans to understand about Afghanistan?

Afghanistan is much more than the conflict that we have there. Whenever we talk, it’s all about the challenges that they see on the news, but it is a country with rich culture, deep history, talented people, and very strong communities. Afghans have hopes, dreams, aspirations, just like everyone else, and many are working hard to build a better future, despite difficult circumstances right now that girls cannot go to school. They try very hard to at least go to different countries or to continue their educations online.

Do you feel an obligation or responsibility to help them given the opportunities that you’ve had?

Of course. I’m very happy that I did get the education but at the same time it’s very heavy on me when I see millions of other Afghan girls that could not get the opportunity — their basic right. Every time I really think about this, I do feel responsible. I am like, what can I do to invest in them, help them somehow?

Right now, I’m working on an academy where we are teaching younger girls above age 15. We’re trying to teach them English, trading, stocks.

We are using Telegram because that was the easiest that girls could have access to it, and we have some other volunteers from different countries, even within Afghanistan, who are volunteering and who are teaching those young girls.

It’s been nearly five years since the US military left Afghanistan. For your friends and family who are still there, what have these last few years been like?

It has been hell for them. I have family cousins who graduated school with me, and then after that, they tried to continue. They took different routes, but like in every route that they took, every way that they pursued was kind of banned for them.

My cousin, she wanted to be a lawyer, and she started that, and then the … Taliban were like, oh, girls are not allowed — they can’t be lawyers. And then she’s like, OK, I’m going try to do something different, and then she started nursing, and they even stopped that.

My family, they were working with the previous government. They can’t work right now. It’s so hard for them to financially help themselves.

You spoke at commencement last month. What was your message to your fellow graduates?

Education is not equal around the world, and when we are given the opportunity, we should also think of other people who do not have the same kind of opportunity.

We should think about everything that we have. We should not just take it for granted.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

The Boston Globe’s weekly Ocean State Q&A features Rhode Islanders who are starting new businesses or nonprofits, conducting groundbreaking research, or reshaping the state’s economy. Send tips and suggestions to [email protected].