An Afghan student who received a $75,000 scholarship from Wilfrid Laurier University has been the subject of controversy after being denied a student visa by the federal immigration department. Despite her high GPA and record of involvement in supporting women’s education in her home country, the department denied her visa twice.
The woman, named Farzana (26), founded a platform to support education for Afghan women under the Taliban regime and received a scholarship to study business administration in India. She was planning to start a master’s degree in international studies in Canada, but her plans are now in danger of being ruined by the visa denial.
Farzana’s lawyer criticized the immigration department’s denial of her visa, saying, “There is no other explanation for the visa denial than her Afghan origin.”
The Canadian government has stated that it will consider visa application criteria on a case-by-case basis, but there have been continued criticisms that it is disadvantageous to refugee students.