Angelina Jolie has opened an all-girls school in Afghanistan.
The Hollywood actress-turned-humanitarian funded the opening of a primary school in a village just outside of Kabul where refugees are rebuilding after the collapse of the Taliban regime, E! News reported.
The region is known to place higher importance on the education of young males over females.
The facility was completed in 2012 and educates between 200 and 300 girls, according to the report.
It is believed to be the first in a series of educational institutions the actress plans on opening around the world as part of a humanitarian initiative launched by the star in 2007.
The Education Partnership for Children of Conflict aims to reach a total of one million “children in conflict, post-conflict refugee and emergency situations”, Jolie said at a press conference announcing its launch.
The programme’s goals include placing 350,000 children in schools and improving the learning environment for children and teachers from Iraq to Darfur and beyond.
The actress plans to continue funding the project with help from proceeds garnered from her jewellery collection, Style of Jolie, designed by Robert Procop.
“Beyond enjoying the artistic satisfaction of designing these jewels, we are inspired by knowing our work is also serving the mutual goal of providing for children in need,” she told E!
The collection will be available this week at United States jeweller Tivol in Kansas City.
Jolie was named Goodwill Ambassador for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in 2001.
The organisation credits the actress with carrying out more than 40 field missions in remote regions around the world “to highlight the plight of millions of uprooted people and to advocate for their protection”, according to a statement on the UNHCR website.
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