美国国务院决定拒绝向美国阿富汗大学（AUAF）提供2500万美元的资金支持1。这所大学是塔利班统治下阿富汗女性仅存的高等教育途径之一，目前约有1000名学生，其中四分之三为女性1。美国国务院以该大学"长期无法对数百万美元美国纳税人资金的使用进行问责"为由做出此决定1。
美国曾是该大学的主要资金来源，截至2018年覆盖其近90%的经费1。财务问题的出现并非近期才发现——美国检查人员从2016年起启动财务调查，2018年发现该大学的会计记录存在不清之处1。然而，前美国国际开发署（USAID）主任帕特里克·范恩对此提出异议，表示"他们没有发现重大欺诈"，并称此举为"抹黑策略"1。
美国阿富汗大学成立于2006年，当时时任美国第一夫人劳拉·布什宣布美国承诺投入数百万美元1。2021年8月塔利班重新掌权后，于2022年12月宣布禁止女性教育1。该大学目前通过秘密在线项目继续为女性学生提供教育机会1。美国的资金支持决定将直接威胁这一关键教育途径的生存前景。
The U.S. State Department has refused to provide a $25 million grant to the American University of Afghanistan (AUAF), threatening one of the last remaining pathways to higher education for women in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan 1. The university, which enrolls approximately 1,000 students with three-quarters being female, has continued operating through clandestine online programs since the Taliban regained power in August 2021 1.
The funding denial stems from long-standing financial accountability concerns. U.S. officials cited the institution's inability to adequately document the use of millions of dollars in American taxpayer funds, with financial irregularities traced back to investigations that began in 2016 and uncovered poor accounting records by 2018 1. The State Department's decision comes amid the Taliban's December 2022 ban on female education, which has severely restricted women's access to schooling throughout the country 1.
The decision has drawn criticism from those familiar with the university's operations. Patrick Fine, former director of USAID, disputed the characterization of financial mismanagement, stating that investigators "did not find major fraud" and describing the defunding as a "smearing tactic" 1. The university's significance is underscored by the fact that the U.S. previously covered nearly 90 percent of AUAF's operating budget as of 2018 1. The institution was founded in 2006 with a commitment from the U.S., announced at that time by then-First Lady Laura Bush 1.
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