A group of more than 80 Afghan women who fled the Taliban regime to study in Oman say they are at risk of imminent deportation to Afghanistan after their U.S.-funded scholarship was canceled as part of the Trump administration’s cuts to foreign aid.
The female students received an email on Feb. 28 informing them that the scholarship program administered by the U.S. Agency for International Development at the Middle East College of Oman had been terminated along with thousands of other foreign aid initiatives, according to the email obtained by NBC News.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The plight of the Afghan students was first reported by the BBC.
In a letter to aid groups, the Afghan women are appealing for urgent help to allow them to continue their studies abroad and avoid returning to a country where, they say, they will face certain persecution and life-threatening risks.
“The…
