Today, October 11, we’re celebrating the International Day of the Girl.

International Day of the Girl was founded by the United Nations to raise awareness (and enthusiasm!) for girls all over the world to lead better lives and reach their full potential. No one understands the importance of that better than one of our very own mentors, Azita Azimi. Read on for our interview with her!

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

What female leader/tech leader do you look up to?

There are so many successful female leaders in the world that I follow, but mostly I try to forge my own path.

What inspires you in life?

My goals and aspirations inspire me to work hard, and encourage my loved ones to do so as well.

When you were a little girl, what did you dream to accomplish and be one day?

I wanted to be my mother. Wars and general lack of security in Afghanistan left her uneducated, which motivated her to ensure that her children received a proper education. That really inspired me to pursue my education and employable skills.

Beside that, I want to be successful – no matter what field: teaching, law, engineering, computer science.

How did you first get involved in Code to Inspire?

I was delighted when I learned about CTI because it’s such an amazing chance for girls to learn to program and code. A few months later, one of my professors suggested that I join CTI as a mentor to enable other girls to achieve their dreams.

What are your future goals and where would you like to see CTI in the next 1-5 years?

All of us at CTI are working towards creating a safe community where women have the skills to become programmers to work on projects like web development, game development or mobile application development. That way, they can earn their own money and enjoy their own careers.

Besides that, I need to prove to men that women are just as qualified coders as they are.

What is some insight you can provide about how innovative and new the CTI concept is for Afghanistan?

Technology is so important for any country, superpowers included, to achieve and improve. In Afghanistan, more access to technology only serves to better the lives of its people for generations to come.

What excites you the most about technology and computer coding?

Developing apps. When I can develop my own app and watch as it functions perfectly, I really can’t describe that moment. It feels like victory.

Would you like to see more girls empowered through Azita’s example? Support Code to Inspire today http://codetoinspire.org/donate/

Today marks World Teachers Day and Code to Inspire wants to give a shout out to all teachers around the world!

Was there a teacher who left a lasting impact on you? Perhaps you are an educator yourself! What would a world without solid teachers look like! We cannot even imagine.

We at Code to Inspire are grateful for our team of mentors who go above and beyond in providing instruction and empowering our female students. You can learn more about our mentors here: http://codetoinspire.org/team/

Behind every good teacher is not just head knowledge or subject matter expertise but a passion to make a difference in the lives of their students and empower their students to do the same.

As our mentor, Aalem says, “With the hope to break down the barriers that stand between women and technology in Afghanistan, we put our efforts to inspire afghan girls to code and to prove that there should be no gender gap in the field of technology.”  

Our Founder and CEO, Fereshteh Forough, is a former teacher we are honoring today! In fact, today Fereshteh received the Citris Athena Award!

This #WorldTeacherDay we are thankful for donors who have helped us get to the point of soon graduating our first group of students through providing funding for our exceptional mentors!

Want to help us expand and bring on additional mentors and students? Donate today!

http://codetoinspire.org/donate/