The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan marked its third year on 15 August 2024. In that time, girls and women have seen their rights stripped away and the challenges to obtaining an education have significantly increased. Girls have been barred from continuing their education beyond Grade 6, and women from pursuing higher education or a profession, even from walking freely on the street. Just recently, even stricter prohibitions were put in place forbidding women from speaking or showing their faces in public. The scope and severity of these restrictions and the inhumane treatment of women is truly unprecedented. Their large-scale systematic violations of women's and girls' fundamental human rights in Afghanistan constitute gender persecution and an institutionalized framework of gender apartheid.
Currently, work opportunities for women also remain limited as the Taliban has prohibited women from going to office jobs or working outside the home. Even women's beauty parlors were ordered closed. But women are still allowed to work in certain sectors including as teachers and medical professionals, and in industries such as agriculture and handicrafts like carpet weaving and sewing, as long as they are not working alongside men who are not their immediate family members.
Education of Afghan Girls
Afghanistan's education system, scarred by decades of relentless conflict, grapples with profound challenges, particularly in remote regions. Despite important gains in school enrollment over the past two decades, millions of Afghan children aged 7 to 15 still lack access to school, with girls constituting a staggering 80 percent of this demographic. Complex factors such as entrenched negative traditions and attitudes, the insufficient number of government schools, the scarcity of female teachers, arduous journeys to distant schools, insecurity, a lack of washrooms (especially for girls), and female children's household responsibilities have perpetuated this crisis.
Schools for Afghan Children
For twenty-eight years, Central Asia Institute (CAI) has been working to make education possible for children and women in remote and mountainous communities in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Tajikistan. Home to the Hindu Kush, Karakoram, and Pamir Mountain Ranges, and some of the tallest peaks on earth, this region is one of the most beautiful and rugged parts of the globe. It is also one of the poorest and most conflict-ridden. Long plagued by illiteracy, lack of economic opportunity, and insecurity, these disadvantaged and hard to reach areas are typically underserved by their governments and other international aid organizations. CAI works here because others do not.
While CAI serves both females and males, it believes that focusing on girls and women can have a larger impact that lasts for generations. When girls and women are educated, societies are transformed. Both the immediate benefit and long-term impact are staggering. The health of the girl and her family improves, economies get stronger, and the cycle of education continues into future generations. Uplifting a holistic and empowering approach to education has a positive impact on the well-being of an entire community.
Since 2001, CAI has been working in remote, marginalized Afghan communities to support an array of programs that have provided tens of thousands of Afghan children and women with access to quality education and livelihood skillsDespite the challenges mentioned above, CAI remains steadfastly committed to working in Afghanistan, to making education possible, and to standing by communities it has served for more than two decades. Because the vast majority of Afghans, including in rural areas, support women's education, CAI aims to fight back against the Taliban's tactics by continuing to enroll Afghan children from poor, marginalized communities into primary school.
One of CAI's priorities in Afghanistan has been to establish community-based primary schools in remote areas where no schools exist and where there is support for girls' education. These community classrooms play a crucial role in providing education to girls and boys who are unable to access regular schools.
In fact, the communities themselves play a key role in setting up and managing the schools. This includes donating the space to hold classes and selecting members of the community to help manage the school. Members of these School Management Committees (SMCs) receive training from CAI and are formally charged with helping to recruit teachers, ensure students attend, monitor student and teacher performance, and intervene when issues arise. For example, there have been instances in which local Talibs have tried to intimidate families into withdrawing their girls from school or shut down CAI schools altogether. In these cases, the communities themselves, through the SMCs, have pushed back. So far this has proven successful in every instance.
CAI provides education for Afghan boys and girls. At present, it supports primary school education through Grade 6 with close to eight thousand children, including 5,388 girls, enrolled in CAI community primary schools. The goal is to get as many children as possible, especially girls, to a level where they can read, write, and do basic math and thus have a chance for a better life.
Tragically, the Taliban has not lifted its ban on education for older girls Grade 7 and above despite enormous pressure from the U.S. and other western governments. While initially CAI has been reaching older girls in smaller groups through private tutors, the Taliban shut down those activities.
At present, CAI community schools also provide training and salaries for two hundred sixty-four teachers, one-hundred ninety-two of whom are women. Teachers have been especially grateful that for the continued support received from CAI given the soaring poverty and unemployment rates.
The continuation of CAI's current community school program is of paramount importance in ensuring that children, regardless of their circumstances, have the opportunity to receive quality education. Programs offer a flexible and locally driven approach that caters to the needs of the students and their communities. By recognizing the significance of addressing the specific educational challenges faced by these children, CAI has made a meaningful impact on entire districts. It is therefore essential to prioritize and support the continuation of community-based initiatives to ensure that education remains accessible and inclusive for all.[i]
Stories
In the remote Rast Qol village of Afghanistan, eight-year-old Rana and her grandmother are the best of friends. After Rana tragically lost both parents in a car accident at the age of three, her grandmother became her full-time caregiver. They got by on subsistence agriculture and income from Rana's uncle, who runs a small shop in the village. But there were simply no options for school--that is until CAI opened a community-based classroom in Rana's village.
Since joining two years ago, Rana has flourished.
Rana is one of the thousands of students who would not have been able to attend school at all without CAI and the many donors who fund its work. The school has not only provided Rana with a strong educational foundation but also increased her social support network.
In the words of her teacher, "She is a hardworking and eager learner. And since no one in her family has been formally educated, I am providing her with extra support to ensure she succeeds." Education is the most crucial path towards change and progress for women, and that is why CAI is committed to supporting girls like Rana.[ii]
At 8 years old, Nadia had never seen the inside of a classroom. She could not read, write or count. "School is important for everyone," she says, "because we learn about ourselves and determine our futures here."[iii]
Aisha and Marwaii are two Afghan girls who took the risk of pretending to be boys to attend an English language course. Recalling the first day when they went for registration, they said, "We were scared, but we went to the school office and registered under the names of Ahmad and Mahmood. And we were seated in the boys' class."
In another story, Toba, who was teaching English at a language center, is now forced to stay home. But she and others like her have not given up. Using her smartphone, a laptop, and the Internet, she pursues learning online. "The only thing that encourages us to continue this struggle is the existence of these phones and computers and the Internet. If this space were not there, absolute darkness would rule in our lives," she said.[iv]
Challenges
Muhammad Idrees Ghairat, Professional Specialist at the Afghanistan Policy Lab explains that, "So far, engagements with the Taliban by the international community have not proved fruitful. Although a few Muslim scholars condemned the Taliban's policies and have spoken out against the inhumane treatment of girls and women by the Taliban, these efforts have not been impactful." He added that more work needs to be done, "There are a couple of ways Afghans together with the international community can work to continue the learning process to whatever extent they can, including supporting in-person and online education platforms for Afghan girls and women."
Online education platforms have been described in one report:[v]
Many female students and teachers have turned to online platforms for education. Mahbooba Akbar, a former lecturer, now teaches girls through her YouTube channel. "I was expelled from Kandahar Teacher Training College, and then I created a YouTube channel where I teach mathematics, geometry, and statistics online at the seventh through twelfth grade levels," she explained. "My work is welcomed and admired by people and my family, and I am driven to continue."
Many Afghan students and teachers became familiar with online classes and learning platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic beginning in 2020, when some schools and universities closed and adopted remote learning. The challenge, however, is access. Afghanistan has one of the lowest internet penetration rates in the world. Many Afghans, especially those who live in rural areas, do not have access to the internet or to computers or other technology needed to carry out online education.
In addition to online education, some communities and families secretly try to provide in-person educational opportunities for girls. There are underground classes taking place in many areas, and some primary schools illegally hold classes for girls above the age of 12. In interviews, some of the teachers and parents who are involved in organizing these classes described the danger they face. One activist who organizes four classes for older girls in a primary school recalled an instance when a Taliban official arrived to inspect the school to ensure classes above sixth grade were not being held. "We had to help all the [older] girls escape out of the classroom windows," she said. "We then threw their bags over the wall into the street and helped them to climb the walls. I was crying because the girls ... panicked and running around scared, and the teachers were trying to get them out." She continued to say the girls and the teachers escaped safely, and that despite the close call, "we still continue to study."
The religious leaders in Pakistan as well as Islamic scholars from the Middle East, particularly Qatar and Saudi Arabia, have important role in influencing the Taliban to convince them of the importance of women's education in Islam and provide examples of the role of educated girls and women in an Islamic Society. He believes that given the risks that women face, men should lead the debates and protests within the country to challenge the Taliban's restrictive views on girls' and women's rights. "There is no other alternative but to convince the Taliban to lift the ban on girls' education," Ghairat insists. He concludes, "An educated mother helps build an educated family, which leads to an educated society."
But there can also be more than religious reason behind the ban on education of women. Some Afghans argue that[vi]
the main motivation is power because the more educated the population is the more able it will be to oppose the group's rule. According to Sahira Sharif, an exiled Afghan politician, "The Taliban understand that if a girl is educated, it means that the entire family is educated. The Taliban and their allies are frightened of educated and intelligent women. They apply the saying: If you want to destroy a society, take the pen out of its hands.
With education, the economic situation of the household improves, leading to better living standards. Every step matters, and every initiative makes a difference. It is crucial that individuals worldwide support the education platforms to keep the learning process alive for Afghan girls."
Another account states that despite these obstacles, "communities across Afghanistan found ways to educate girls, even in remote and impoverished areas." In 2020, girls and boys were learning in a school called Funangziu in Pachir Wa Agam district in Nangarhar province, for example.[vii]
Concluding statement
"The presence of a female teacher within our community has refreshed our hopes for the future and established a strong foundation that motivates us for further growth. Girls in our community are proficient in reading and writing and display enthusiasm for their future endeavors. Furthermore, community elders are mobilized and recognize the importance of girls' education, actively advocating for it unlike before." - Mrs. Ramela, a 30-year-old teacher in Mochekan, a remote and mountainous village in the Versaj District of Takhar province.
With more than half of Afghan children out of school, CAI cannot give up on this next generation of Afghan children. They are, after all, their country's best hope for a better future.
For further information, please contact: Central Asia Institute, PO Box 7209, Bozeman, MT 59771; e-mail: info@centralasiainstitute.org; www.centralasiainstitute.org
[i] Alice Thomas, Afghanistan: Amid the Challenges, CAI Continues to Provide Education and Hope, 2024-2025, JOURNEY OF HOPE, https://centralasiainstitute.org/afghanistan-amid-the-challenges-cai-continues-to-provide-education-and-hope/.
[ii] Rana Dreams Big, https://centralasiainstitute.org/rana-dreams-big/.
[iii] Our impact on education, Read about the lives you're changing, https://centralasiainstitute.org/impact/.
[iv] Thomas, op, cit.
[v] Muqadasa Ahmadzai, The War on Schoolgirls: Responding to the Education Crisis in Afghanistan. POLICY BRIEF, Afghanistan Policy Lab, https://spia.princeton.edu/sites/default/files/2023-06/Girls%20Education%20Policy%20Brief.pdf.
[vi] Ahmadzai, ibid.
[vii] Ahmadzai, ibid.