By Molly Shapiro
Afghanistan’s recent fall to the Taliban has brought global attention to the immense challenges girls and women living in conservative cultures face in accessing education. While there have been enormous gains in female education in Afghanistan since the U.S.-led incursion in 2001,
millions of female students around the country may be forced to drop out of school or banned from attending should the Taliban move forward in imposing its strict interpretation of Islam.
The situation is even more fraught for girls in rural areas. Even during the 20 years of progress in girls’ education, gains were confined primarily to cities. Until the Taliban seized control in mid-August, 45% of girls in urban areas attended secondary school. In remote, rural areas that tend to lean more conservative, only 17% of girls advanced to secondary school.
For the past 20 years, Central Asia Institute’s programs have focused primarily on remote communities located miles and mountains away from more cosmopolitan urban centers. There, government schools are few and far between, and often out of reach for girls and boys alike. Even where education is available, antiquated attitudes towards the role of women and girls as confined to domestic responsibilities such as doing chores and rearing children have prevailed over centuries. Strict interpretations of Islam that require girls and boys to be separated from one another past the age of 12 also persist. These beliefs have made it much more challenging for girls living in remote, conservative areas to receive an education.
For CAI, working in these remote, conservative areas means that we and our partners have had to learn to bridge the cultural divide and implement strategies for making girls’ education possible.
One of the biggest challenges in educating girls and boys in the remote, mountainous regions of Afghanistan is that there are few formal government schools located nearby. This means that children have to travel long distances to attend classes, which creates a unique barrier for girls living in conservative cultures. Girls must be accompanied by a male relative and cannot travel alone in public. In addition, their parents understandably worry about the dangers their daughters might confront on the road. And poor families with few resources to educate all of their children often favor boys over girls when it comes to who has the privilege of going to school.
Community-based education (CBE) is designed to solve these problems. CBE involves setting up a classroom in the heart of the community, such as in the home of the teacher or another member of the community or in a local building or mosque. Girls’ parents are far more comfortable enrolling them in classes that are more private and located right in the village where students live. It is no surprise that CBE has proven to be one of the most effective strategies for educating girls in Afghanistan over the past 20 years.
Setting up informal education opportunities to reach remote communities also requires gaining the trust and acceptance of community members. Mustafa, the deputy director of one of CAI’s partner organizations in Afghanistan, explains the intensive groundwork that must be done to engage with conservative communities that are resistant to establishing a school for girls. “We ask the community to be involved in the process and provide space in the village. We recruit teachers from the village. We establish a village council, or shura, to oversee the school. We go to the religious people to explain the importance of education for girls.”
Given the disproportionately low school enrollment rate among girls, especially in rural areas, as well as the difficulties for girls to access formal schools, CAI and its partners prioritize educational programs for girls. According to Mustafa, communities question this emphasis on girls’ education. And they often push back on the notion of hiring female teachers, saying they should not be hired over a male teacher and should instead remain in the home. “So we talk with the village elders and convince those people to let the females be involved in our project,” he explains.
Most importantly, Mustafa and his colleagues emphasize that the community has real ownership of their school. “We tell them that this program is for you and for your children,” he says. “You should monitor this program. You should monitor if our organization properly provides services to your children.”
Sometimes Mustafa and his team point to other nearby villages that have experienced the benefits of girls’ education. Or they’ll try to show that educating girls does not go against the community’s culture, customs, or religion. In the end, most villages do embrace CBE, and only in rare circumstances has the team had to give up and move on to another village.
Of course with the Taliban back in control of the government, the advances made in girls’ education are in serious jeopardy. Under the group’s strict interpretation of Islam, high school and university-level female students face far greater restrictions on their right to attend school, and possibly risk being banned from school altogether. But CAI and its partners, having worked in conservative areas over the last two decades, have learned to find a way forward that we hope will prove successful in combating new restrictions.
For example, when Mustafa learned that the head of education for the Taliban wanted to shut down a computer class for teenage girls in Nangarhar province, he went to the man’s office and convinced him to allow the class to continue. He and his team have also worked strenuously to encourage the village shuras (councils) to keep their community-based schools open—and they have. In fact, for some communities, the more the Taliban restricts girls’ education, the more they want to create these schools.
There is no telling exactly how far things will go. Yet CAI and its partners, having learned over the past two decades to bridge the cultural divide in conservative areas, remain hopeful. Besides the huge increases in the number of Afghan girls and women who have been educated over the past 20 years, one of the most notable changes in Afghanistan has been the attitude towards education. In 2019, 87% of Afghans surveyed were in favor of girls’ education, according to The Asia Foundation. This is no surprise given the value that educated females bring to their families and communities in terms of improved health, income, and quality of life. While the Taliban leadership may hope to turn back the clock, the changes in attitudes won’t be easy to reverse. This is cause for hope.
*Names have been changed out of concern for people’s safety.
Library on wheels delivers joy and knowledge to students in remote villages.
By Hannah Denys
For many children living in northern Pakistan, simply getting to school is the biggest barrier to getting an education. But with the introduction of an innovative library van last year, these children don’t need to travel to school. School can travel to them.
In 2020, Central Asia Institute commissioned a library van, something never before seen in this region. Stocked with hundreds of books, puppets, crafting materials, and more, the van’s purpose is to bring education and joy to children living in impoverished, isolated communities.
The van is an unusual sight as it bumps along winding country roads. Painted in bright colors, with the slogan “Read and go forward” emblazoned on its side, the van sparks the curiosity of bystanders.
“When we are driving on the road, all the communities and students are watching our van,” says Ismail Hunzai, who creates lesson plans for children and sometimes travels with the van. “And they are asking questions: ‘What is this and what are you doing here?’”
The library van is uniquely able to reach remote villages with high numbers of out-of-school youngsters. In these areas, children often want to be educated, but their families can’t afford it or there isn’t a school nearby. Low school enrollment and attendance rates are big problems for many of the towns in northern Pakistan and throughout the country.
“[Older children] might be allowed to go to school using public transportation or by walking,” explains Ms. Hira Amir, the instructor who travels with the van. “Because of this, some children only go to school three days a week [if they go at all]. But little children—girls and boys—many of them are not able to go to school because the school is too far away from their village.”
Thanks to the library van and the free classes it offers, these young children now have a chance to learn. Hira teaches them about reading, writing, math, art, critical thinking, and more. There’s even a lesson on gardening. All the exercises are interactive and encourage students to ask questions. Many are designed to bridge the gap between classroom learning and daily life.
Hira feels the lessons on nature and climate change are especially good at accomplishing this. One of her favorite books from the library talks about the importance of conservation. “Trees are our friends,” she says. “In the village, we see trees all around us. That’s why I teach [the students] to take care of trees. Trees are good for our health.”
Conservation is crucial in northern Pakistan, where farmers are clearing more and more trees to make room for farmland. There is a growing concern about deforestation and climate change throughout the country, yet the solutions and need for wild spaces are not widely talked about. (See page 28 for more information on climate change and girls’ education.)
Mr. Babar Khan, the library van project manager, speaks passionately about the need for more lessons that have real-world impacts. “Our classrooms are disconnected from our society,” he says. “Where and how will the classroom content be applied in your practical life? [This story] from the library is an example of how we can connect classroom learning and sensitize children and make [conservation] part of the social norm—to be a part of nature and not the enemy of nature. We are trying to introduce this concept to children at an early age so that it will last.”
Hira visits up to three villages a day. Throughout the month, she’ll service approximately 15 different locations, spending one to two hours in each village. Hira wishes that she could stay longer in each place, but due to the steep mountain terrain, the remote locations of the villages, and the poor quality of the roads, her drive to the next village is often long and slow.
Even though their time with the van is limited, children and adults have come to look forward with excitement to its arrival and all the treasures and joy it brings. “I am always welcomed by smiling faces,” says Hira. “And when I ask them if I can go, they always say ‘No, madam! We want more activities!’”
It’s no wonder that the communities love the library van. Few villagers have books to open their minds and imaginations to new information and ideas. And having engaging learning activities is a new concept for students in Pakistan. Teachers rarely use interactive materials like the ones Hira employs. Teaching methods have historically focused on rote memorization and preparation for end-of-semester tests. Without interactive, playful lessons, students who go to government-run or private schools are slow to grasp or retain most of what they are taught and unable to analyze information.
To get a sense of what they were up against, Ismail conducted a survey when the van program was getting started. Children were tested on their knowledge of basic concepts, like the alphabet and numbers. Most scored very low on the assessment. Ismail used what he learned to design specific activities for each village. Activities that Hira uses with students are selected based on the assessment results.
The progress they’ve witnessed has been incredible. When the children were first tested, almost none of them passed the assessment. After one year, students were retested using the same assessment. This time, approximately 80% of students passed the test. Of the 20% who didn’t, most had poor attendance or had joined the program late. The library van team is targeting these students for
special attention so they can catch up with their peers and be able to read, write, and speak English and Urdu—the two national languages—at a passable level in the next few months.
The success of the van has been so impressive that other educational organizations have taken note, and several are considering replicating the program in other parts of the country. The van could be an innovative way to provide some of Pakistan’s 22.8 million out-of-school children with a different pathway
to learning.
To increase the reach of the program, Central Asia Institute recently equipped a second library van, which will visit villages in the northeast, while the original van will continue to travel in the northwest. But even with the second van, there are still many children who remain without access to education.
Eighteen communities have contacted the library team about having the van visit their villages. In addition, people along the van’s routes will often ask the driver to make a stop at their village. But with limited time and resources, the library team cannot add additional villages to their routes at this time.
“Yesterday, we were in one village called Basseen, near Warzah, a poor area where people live in tents and don’t know about education,” explains Amir, the library van’s driver. “All the children were on the side of the road swimming in the river. I asked them ‘Why are you not going to school?’ They told me that school is very far so they cannot go to school. The girls are at home doing chores and washing clothes, so they are not able to go to school either. These children don’t even know what a pencil is. So I showed them a pencil and how to use it. They were so interested.”
When he returned to the district office at the end of the day, Amir shared this story with his boss. He hopes that one day he’ll be able to give these children the education they deserve and crave.
Until that day comes, he and the rest of the library van team are so grateful for being able to change so many lives with this project.
“Thanks deeply from the core of our hearts to the donors of CAI,” said Babar. “You provided us the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of these children. There are still children out there waiting for us to create these opportunities for them, but whatever progress we have made so far is thanks to you, the donors. We wish to convey our deepest thanks to you. We appreciate your support and trust.
By Alice Thomas
Afghan women and girls face an uncertain and ominous future.
Now that U.S. and NATO forces have withdrawn and the Taliban has regained power, women and girls fear a return to the brutal repression of freedoms and rights they experienced two decades ago. Unfortunately, it is becoming more and more apparent that these fears could become reality.
Despite promises to the contrary, the Taliban’s new cabinet does not include a single woman. The Ministry of Women’s Affairs has been disbanded and supplanted with a Ministry of Virtue and Vice, known under the prior regime for brutally enforcing the group’s strict interpretation of Islam under Sharia law. In addition, within weeks of the Taliban’s coming to power, the rights of Afghan women and girls to education and work were already being significantly curtailed—not to mention the broader rights of all Afghans to freedom of religion and movement. All around the country, there are reports that women who previously worked in government offices, banks, and other businesses are being told to go home “where they belong.”
While primary schools have continued to operate for girls and boys, in late September, the education ministry ordered male students and teachers back to high school, but made no mention of female students, raising fears that girls would be banned from attending school beyond the sixth grade. Following public outrage, the Taliban quickly backed down, announcing girls would be permitted to return to secondary school “soon.” But what that will look like and under what conditions remains uncertain.i
In some regions of the country, female students have been prohibited from attending university, including Kabul University, the country’s premier public university. In late September, the school’s new, Taliban-appointed chancellor proclaimed that female students and teachers would be banned altogether from attending.ii More broadly, the Taliban’s new education minister recently declared that going forward, women and men must be educated and work separately. This would effectively act to limit girls’ ability to attend anything beyond primary school given the limited number of high school and university teachers who are female. Women who have been permitted to attend certain universities are also being forced to wear long, black abayas that cover their entire bodies and a niqab over their faces, leaving just their eyes uncovered.
For Afghan women and girls, the extent of sorrow and loss they are feeling cannot be overstated.
But there may be reason for hope. Today’s Afghanistan is different in important ways from when the Taliban last held power. There has been significant progress in Afghan women’s and girls’ access to education, jobs, and political participation. Most notably, literacy rates among girls have doubled. Of the 9 million students enrolled in school in 2018, 3.8 million were female. When compared to 2001, when virtually no girls were enrolled in school, this represents enormous progress.iii
In urban areas, before the recent takeover by the Taliban, 45% of girls attended secondary school. (Although in rural areas, progress has been much slower with only 17% of girls advancing to secondary school.) Over the past 20 years, the number of schools increased 10 times and the number of female primary teachers grew to approximately one-third of the nation’s teachers.iv Public support for education has also dramatically increased. A 2019 survey across all 34 of the country’s provinces found that 87% of women and 85% of men supported women’s access to education.v
In the past two decades, women have also seen important gains in terms of access to jobs. As of 2017, approximately 40% of working-age adults were female. There are more women-run businesses than there were 20 years ago, and there have been meaningful improvements in women’s participation in the Afghan Parliament, police, and judiciary. While surely not enough, these are nonetheless important milestones of progress.vi
With the situation still evolving, it is this generation of educated women who are emerging as seeds of hope. As of late September, women across Afghanistan were publicly protesting Taliban edicts that would ban them from holding government office and entering the workforce. They are risking their lives, knowing that such protests have already been brutally repressed. But they have not been deterred, and the world has been astounded by their bravery.
Afghan women inside and outside of the country recently launched an online media campaign protesting the new restrictions on dress. Using hashtags like #DoNotTouchMyClothes and #AfghanistanCulture, women are posting pictures of themselves on social media wearing traditional Afghan women’s clothing characterized by bright colors and embellished with embroidery and small sparkling mirrors. In doing so, these women are not only rejecting niqabs and burkas but reclaiming their identities as well. As one Afghan women’s rights advocate explained, “Our traditional clothes represent our rich culture and history of 5,000 years, which makes every Afghan feel proud of who they are.”vii
Propelling these brave women is the thought of a life without the rights to work, education, or self-determination; a life confined to their homes; and a life stripped of books, music, laughter, and hope. For them, this is no life at all.
What girls’ education will look like under Taliban rule is far from clear. In Central Asia Institute’s experience, even in those areas that have long been under Taliban control, practices can vary when it comes to what is acceptable. Whether this will continue to be the case now that the Taliban rules the entire country is hard to say. But among the Taliban, significant differences of opinion with respect to education suggest that going forward, a uniform approach to girls’ education may be hard to achieve. Recently, there have been disagreements between hardliners and those who recognize that Afghanistan needs a better and more modern educational system.viii
It is true that for now, Afghanistan’s women and girls face a dark future. Yet there is an entirely new generation of Afghan women and girls who have emerged over the past two decades. They are both proof and hope of what remains possible. Education will empower Afghan women and men all over the world to fight for a better future for themselves, their families, and their country.
i. Zucchino, D., & Blue, V. (2021, September). A Harsh New Reality for Afghan Women and Girls in Taliban-Run Schools. In The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/20/world/asia/afghan-girls-schools-taliban.html
ii. Engelbrecht, C., & Hassan, S. (2021, September). New Taliban Chancellor Bars Women from Kabul University. In The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/27/world/asia/taliban-women-kabul-university.html
iii. The Right to Education: What’s at Stake in Afghanistan, 20 Year Review (2021, September). In UNESCO. https://en.unesco.org/news/unesco-sounds-warning-what-stake-education-afghanistan
iv. Afghanistan: Women’s Economic, Political, Social Status Driven by Cultural Norms (2021, April). In National Intelligence Council. https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/SOCM-AFG_Women.pdf
v. A Survey of the Afghan People: Afghanistan in 2019: Infographics (2019, December). In The Asia Foundation.
vi. Supra note iv
vii. Afghan women hit back at Taliban with #DoNotTouchMyClothes campaign (2021, September). In BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-58550335
viii. Supra note iv
*The situation in Afghanistan is changing rapidly. For the most up-to-date information about what’s happening on the ground and our efforts to support the Afghan people, please visit centralasiainstitute.org
My name is Aisha, and I was born in Afghanistan. You will read part of my story in this magazine. My story has the potential to be a happy one. But right now, I’m not sure how happy the ending will be.
In the summer of 2021, I was forced to flee my home because I feared for my life. The Taliban were moving closer and closer to my village. My family and I fled to Kabul, where we hoped we would be safe. Now I live on the streets and am waiting to know my fate.
Tragically, my story is not unique. There are hundreds of thousands of people just like me. We are young people who had big dreams—dreams that we now fear won’t come true because of the Taliban, because of people who think they can decide our futures, ignorant people who don’t want us to be connected to the world, who don’t want us to explore or to read or to learn, and who don’t want women to have even the most basic human rights.
But I have hope. I am hopeful because I know that our sisters and brothers around the globe haven’t forgotten us. As you read the stories in this magazine, know that there are real people behind these words. We have real hopes and real fears.
My sisters and brothers, we know the future is uncertain. But when you keep us in your hearts, you give us hope for a happy end to our stories. Please do not let the darkness of ignorance win!
Sincerely,
Aisha
*The author’s name has been changed to protect her identity.
By Rebecca Lee
Picture a group of young children hunkered down around a radio listening to their favorite program. The scene could be reminiscent of your parents or grandparents when they were children. Radios might seem like an outdated technology in today’s digital age. Yet while children in the United States are glued to their computers, tablets, and smartphones, children in Pakistan are “going to school” through the radio.
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, community leaders in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) in northern Pakistan convened virtually with educators and Central Asia Institute’s in-country partners to explore ways to keep children learning while schools were closed.
The group was particularly focused on preventing girls from entering the child labor force. The world has watched this scenario play out repeatedly in times of natural disasters and other pandemics like Ebola: Schools close and girls are put to work, only to be denied the right to return when schools re-open.
Unless the leaders in GB made it a priority for girls to continue their studies during lockdown, the region was at risk of reversing decades of gains made for girls’ education. Some sort of distance learning was needed to bridge the learning gap until schools reopened.
Many households in this remote area of Pakistan have no internet access, and 43% of the population lives below the poverty line. More than half of children do not go to school. Many homes are without electricity, and most families have no computer, smartphone, or even a television. That means the Zoom classes that were ubiquitous in the United States during lockdown were not an option in remote Pakistan.
In the spring of 2020, the consortium of education and civil service organizations in GB took action. With the support of Central Asia Institute, they launched a pilot educational radio program on Radio Pakistan. Tuning in to the program required two inexpensive and readily available items: a radio and batteries.
The purpose of the pilot program was to keep students—especially girls—learning despite being stuck at home due to the pandemic. The disruption in young lives when a school closes for any reason cannot be overstated. The longer a student is out of school, the less likely they will return. This is especially true for girls. The pilot program targeted 2,300 children living in remote communities who normally attend community-based schools due to the lack of formal, government schools in their area.
The radio program was called Muallim, the Urdu word for teacher. Initially, the curriculum was designed for students in grades 1-3. But given the program’s success, it was soon broadened to cover grades 4-5 as well. The content focused on basic subjects, including Urdu, English, math, and general knowledge, with a special focus on health and hygiene. Lessons were presented in an easy-to-understand style by qualified and trained teachers. Stories, poems, and games kept the content entertaining and engaging. Children provided voiceovers for recurring characters, which added playful and helpful commentary. The organizers realized that Muallim Radio had caught on when they heard stories of parents bringing their broken radios to repair shops.
As word of the program spread, families outside of the pilot area were eager for their children to participate. Thanks to the generous support of CAI donors, Muallim was able to expand its broadcasting to reach students throughout GB province. Volunteer “literacy mobilizers” went into the communities to encourage families to tune in to the program. By the summer of 2020, Muallim was reaching an estimated audience of 200,000 youngsters—nearly 100 times the number of children in the pilot.
Listeners were not limited to students whose classes had been interrupted by COVID. Significant numbers of children and parents who never had access to education were able to tune in and learn as well. For the first time in their lives, these children and adults were receiving a basic education.
Parents could supervise their children’s studies while doing their chores—picking up basic math, language skills, and better health and hygiene practices.
Families with internet access and an electronic device were able to live-stream Muallim programming on the Facebook pages of Radio Pakistan’s local FM channels. Live streaming via the internet made the programming accessible to thousands more children living outside of GB. Families could download recordings of the program from Facebook and YouTube and listen or watch on their own schedule.
The (COVID-19) crisis motivated CAI, its partners, and the communities we serve to innovate and, as a result, the dark cloud of the pandemic may just have a silver lining.
— Alice Thomas,
Executive Director, Central Asia Institute
Before the pandemic, 22.8 million children in Pakistan were out of school, making Pakistan the country with the second-highest number of out-of-school children in the world. Girls, for whom access to education is particularly challenging, make up the majority of Pakistan’s out-of-school children. While it is a priority of the Pakistani government to provide more children with access to education, meeting the educational needs of millions of people has been an enormous challenge.
Therefore, when word of Muallim’s success reached the national level, the Ministry of Education saw the opportunity and began broadcasting Muallim programming in every province in Pakistan, a country of roughly 200 million people.
The reach and impact of Muallim Radio is nothing short of extraordinary. Even once schools started to re-open after the initial COVID-related shutdown, Muallim Radio continued to broadcast relevant, engaging content. More recently, when schools were closed down again due to the rapid spread of the highly contagious Delta variant and the resurgence of COVID, the continuation of the program has allowed students and their parents to continue to tune in. Beyond reaching students who were at home due to the pandemic, Muallim Radio has opened the door to education for millions of children and adults who had been waiting in the wings for a chance to learn. In the midst of a crisis that demanded creative solutions, a proven, accessible, and affordable tool of communication—the radio—became the innovation that kept students learning.
Thanks to the support of donors like you, CAI has been able to support Muallim Radio to help bring education to millions of Pakistani children and adults who continue to benefit from its educational programming. Kudos to our partners overseas; to the teachers, civil service workers, and education leaders in Pakistan; and to you for stepping up during a crisis and keeping education alive.
We are pleased to welcome Adnan Ahmed to Central Asia Institute’s board of directors. Adnan is an experienced CEO and brings with him over 25 years of experience leading teams to create transformational growth at Fortune 500 companies and startups. He is currently CEO of Blue Top Capital, a private equity investment company.
Recently, Adnan sat down with us to answer a few questions about why he chose to join the board of directors and work to promote education.
Why is CAI’s work important?
Adnan: Children represent the future of this world, our hopes, our aspirations. As parents, there is nothing more important for us than caring for our children and providing them with a better future. As a father, I feel blessed that I can provide my kids with education and opportunities to live a fulfilling life. But there are many kids who continue to languish in poverty, with no access to education or opportunities, and no hope for a better future. CAI’s work focuses on these kids in the most remote, marginalized areas of the world – these are the kids the world forgot. CAI gives these kids hope for a better future through education and vocational opportunities. I can think of few things that are more important.
With so many incredible causes to choose from, why join CAI’s board of directors?
Adnan: I’m a strong believer in CAI’s cause and, as a donor, have been an ardent supporter of its work for over 10 years. The work that the CAI team does in dangerous regions, against adverse local conditions, and with a handful of people and meager resources, is truly a testament to the dedication and passion of this team. This level of passion and dedication is rare and inspiring. So, when the opportunity presented itself to contribute to CAI in a more meaningful way, I jumped at it.
Is there anything else that you’d like to share with our readers?
Adnan: I enjoy traveling. I have lived, worked, and/or traveled in over 37 countries, including some of the regions where CAI works, and have enjoyed having my mind broadened and paradigms redefined through my interaction with these diverse cultures and people. Most of my free time is spent with my two daughters who are in school, and who constantly remind me of how much I don’t know. When I’m not spending time with my daughters, I enjoy playing squash, reading books, and enjoying a quiet movie night at home.
We’re honored to welcome Adnan to the Central Asia Institute family!
Interested in joining CAI’s board of directors? Email us at info@centralasiainstitute.org
Violence is not new to Afghanistan. But the recent spate of targeted killings of some of the country’s best and brightest – many of them women – is a new cause for concern. Journalists, judges, and human rights activists have all been targeted or threatened. No group has formally claimed responsibility for the assassinations, but most Afghans are convinced that these murders are the work of the Taliban.
For the past 20 years, the United States and its allies have been fighting to support the Afghan civilian government in a war in which it has increasingly lost ground. The Taliban, which led a ruthless regime of terror prior to the U.S. invasion in 2001, has been demanding the withdrawal of U.S. troops to make way for peace negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government. In February 2020, the Trump administration fulfilled its vow to withdraw America from a war no one seemed to be winning. The Doha Agreement calls for the U.S. to draw down its remaining troops in exchange for a commitment from the Taliban to defend the country against ISIS (which in recent years had gained a frightening foothold amid the country’s vast, ungoverned areas). But since then, the peace negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban have gone nowhere. What’s worse, male and female professionals and activists who represent the new, democratic face of Afghanistan are now in the crosshairs.
In March, two female judges from Afghanistan’s Supreme Court – Qadriya Yaseni and Zakia Herawi – were gunned down in the street. Zakia was just 34 years old. This followed the killing of Fatima Natasha Khalil and Ahmad Jawid Folad, employees of Afghanistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission on June 27. An improvised explosive device planted on their car detonated killing the employees and wounding their driver. One of the few female negotiators in the ongoing peace talks, Fawzia Koofi, was shot in the arm in a failed attempt at her life. And late last year, 22 students at Kabul University had their young lives and promising futures cut short after militants assaulted the campus. The killers are stalking the educated urban elite who are openly voicing their views in support of a modern, democratic Afghanistan that respects the rights of all people. The specific targeting of these brave women and men is terrorizing the country in what feels like a new kind of war.
Since the Trump administration’s agreement, more than 150 Afghans have been murdered. These days, if you are actively engaged in advocating for democracy, human rights, or the rule of law, you are vulnerable to an assassin’s bomb.
Women fear for their lives when they leave their homes to go to work. Friends and family worry they won’t come back. Growing numbers of professional women are quitting their jobs and leaving their homes and communities in search of safety. The group behind the killings appears to be telling the world that its goal is to set the clock back to the dark days when men ruled by violence and women were locked away and denied the most basic human rights, including education.
According to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), a total of 65 human rights defenders and media professionals were killed between January 1, 2018 and January 31, 2021. Eleven have lost their lives just since the start of peace negotiations last September.
“This trend (of killing activists, journalists, and media representatives), combined with the absence of claims of responsibility, has generated a climate of fear among the populations,” reports the UNAMA.
At a critical time for the country’s future, increasing numbers of university students and young professionals view Kabul as too risky. Crowded around tables in cafes, they talk among themselves about getting out. The killings have persuaded scores of young people to try to flee to Turkey, India, and Europe. But few countries welcome asylum seekers, and desperation forces some individuals to seek out smuggling rackets.
The tragedy is that these young professionals are recognized as one of the country’s biggest achievements of the past 20 years. Their departure risks yet another “brain drain” in a country that needs them more than ever. For many of their elders who devoted their lives and talents to seeing Afghanistan restored to a thriving, democratic society, the loss is bitter. Theirs is the generation best prepared to rebuild their country after decades of conflict. Yet western diplomats and officials report an onslaught of calls from desperate Afghan staff and contacts, pleading for help to leave the country.
Shaharzad Akbar, Chair of Afghanistan’s Human Rights Commission, had this to say about the exodus of the educated youth: “People are leaving, people are being killed or threatened and then people are nervous about speaking out. It’s very worrying. I worry what is next, how might this end. More and more people are thinking about leaving, or they have left.”
“People leave thinking it’s temporary, but I think everyone who has left is watching the situation on the ground to see if things improve and if temporary becomes six or nine months, it’s just a challenge for people to come back.”
Going forward, no group is more critical to the future of Afghanistan than its women. The very fact that educated women are being targeted is evidence of the threat they represent for those who wish to reimpose an oppressive regime. It’s no longer just the Americans or Afghan national army that they’re fighting – they now see educated, progressive women and men as the obstacle in their way.
Yet for many Afghans, especially educated women, there is no going back; for them and the men who support them, there is no giving up the hard-fought rights and freedoms. There is no stepping back into the shadows.
The Biden administration is reviewing the previous administration’s agreement with the Taliban, including the May 1st deadline for U.S. troop withdrawal. The pressure is mounting for the U.S. to delay the final exit or renegotiate the deal to allow the presence of a smaller, intelligence-based American force. Many fear that without this leverage, the country will dissolve into an all-out civil war. The Biden administration should not abandon the Afghan people at this critical time. The suffering and violence that Afghans have experienced over the last few decades cannot have been in vain. Any withdrawal agreement should be contingent upon the rights of Afghans, especially women, being preserved. We cannot let the darkness win.
Over the past two decades since the fall of the Taliban, significant progress has been made in literacy rates and education. During this time, Central Asia Institute has been supporting an array of programs designed to increase access to quality education, especially for girls and women. Our programs are designed to address many of the barriers girls in particular face in accessing education, including security concerns and conservative cultural traditions that value their role in domestic life over education. Programs like community-based education — classes that take place in the home of a teacher or a community building — have proven especially effective in ensuring community buy-in and providing a private and secure environment in which girls can learn. And as we’ve learned over time, once families see the enormous benefits that flow from educating their girls, whether it’s improved health or greater economic opportunity, more and more Afghans are demanding education for their children, both boys and girls.
Yet the challenges ahead are significant. Despite progress, more than 40 percent of Afghan children are still out of school, the majority of them girls. The Taliban have indicated a willingness to allow girls to be educated. But in light of the recent killings of women’s rights activists, one wonders.
If anything, the current spike in assassinations magnifies the urgent need to educate more Afghan girls and women, especially in remote regions. Education unlocks their potential and prepares them to play a role in their country’s future in the challenging years ahead. We cannot leave them behind. Many Afghans, including our partners and their beneficiaries, are fighting back despite the danger. They’re desperate to make Afghanistan better. They won’t be silenced. And we are standing with them.
Now more than ever, Central Asia Institute remains committed to standing with Afghan women and men who embrace education as the lens through which to envision a more peaceful and prosperous future for their families, communities, and country.
This blog is dedicated to Mohammad Yousef Rashid, who was shot and killed by an unidentified assailant on December 23, 2020, presumably for his work as a civil society activist. Mr. Rashid was the Executive Director of the non-governmental organization Free and Fair Election Forum of Afghanistan and the Chairman of the Board of Directors at Shining Star, Central Asia Institute’s Afghan partner.
Sources used for this article:
By Belquis Ahmadi, Senior Program Officer at United States Institute of Peace
Belquis Ahmadi
In Afghanistan, one of the most significant gains made in the past two decades has been the increase in girls’ access to education.
While the focus has been on the numbers of girls gaining access, little has been said about the change in people’s attitude toward girls’ education.
Attitudes towards education have changed over the years. There are numerous examples of Afghan men donating their land to build schools for girls, fathers walking several miles a day to accompany their daughters to school, and fathers demanding better education for their children—sons and daughters.
Youth in urban locations enjoy greater access to information and better-quality education. In most rural areas, however, people are still struggling to give their children access to quality education. The reasons are multiple, but the main barriers include lack of schools and threats against teachers and female students by the Taliban and ISIS.
Afghan children are thirsty for education and so are their parents, including in some strictly conservative areas. Khost province is an example of how progress is happening.
Early this year, Khost, a conservative province and the birthplace of the leader of the Haqqani Network, a militant group, made news headlines when elders, religious actors, and youth (all male) from Shamal district issued a statement in which they called on district residents to send their children to school. “Those disobeying the order will be fined 100,000 Afghani ($1,300).”
Lemar, a local business¬man said, “It is not so much about the amount, it is about publicly shaming those who disobey the elders’ deci¬sion as, in addition to the ‘fine,’ the violator will also face isolation and other restrictions.”
It took several years of diplomacy and advocacy by multiple factions to finally get the elders’ approval and support for the education of both girls and boys. Women of all ages and backgrounds have been the silent, per¬sistent advocates for educa¬tion. Young educated men in the province, Afghans who had migrated to oth¬er countries like Iran and Pakistan and later returned to Afghanistan, and young Khosti men who worked as laborers in gulf countries also have been pushing for access to education for girls and boys.
This is how it all started, but not where the move¬ment ended. Last year, the elders from several villag¬es within Shamal district reached out to the govern¬ment-appointed administra¬tive governor of the district demanding financial and material support to build a school. The district governor promised to build a school with a few conditions: Land had to be donated by locals and people had to take re¬sponsibility for ensuring the security of the school build¬ing as well as the security of the students, teachers, and school officials.
On January 24, 2020, some 100 people—including 50 tribal elders, 40 youth, and 10 religious actors—in the presence of the district governor of Shamal, held a jirga, or assembly, to discuss the need for more schools in the district. After several hours of debate about the importance of education and the link between education, economic prosperity, and the eradication of poverty, the district leaders signed a letter pledging their support to facilitate education for all children.
Knowing that villagers would prioritize boys’ schooling over that of girls, advocates for equal education decided to establish an informal school for girls. Since its opening, 250 girls have enrolled. The students are taught by volunteers, all of whom are men, as there are no female teachers in the district. The next step is to register the school as an official government-run school.
Since the agreement became public early this year, prior to the COVID-19 lockdowns, several women’s rights activists and groups launched a door-to-door campaign to raise awareness about the importance of education for girls. Zainab, one of several women’s rights activists who traveled to various villages, spoke with men and women, encouraging them to send their girls to school. Zainab said that she had prepared for the worst. She didn’t know what the reaction would be from the public.
“The support I received from families was unbelievable,” she said. “The strongest advocates are grandmothers. There has been no hesitation for girls’ education. Their main concern is lack of female teachers and easily accessible school buildings.” In unfamiliar neighborhoods, the elders accompany women like Zainab who are making the house calls.
“I’ve received so many calls from men, even from those Afghans who work in gulf countries, asking me to talk to their families to allow their female family members to attend school and literacy courses. People are hungry for education,” said Zainab.
Afghan women have fought hard to get the support of their families and communities to continue their education as well as to be able to earn an income. The hard-won successes from the last two decades, however, could be under threat if the Taliban gain too much power in the peace talks. Girls’ education and women’s rights, in particular, are under threat. Women make up more than 50% of the population, and youth (people below the age of 25 as defined by the UN Population Fund) make up 63%. Their needs and concerns must be taken into consideration by the Afghan government and the Taliban in any agreement over a political settlement.
There are some in the international community who claim that the Taliban have changed and if returned to power, either in full or in part, they will not impose harsh restrictions on girls and women like they did when they were in power in the early 90s. As much as Afghans want to believe that, they do not share the same level of optimism expressed by those in the international community.
As recently as this August, and despite promises to permit girls to be educated, the Taliban prevented some 200 female high school graduates from Mah-e-May and Nusay districts of Badakhshan province from taking the university entrance exam. The exam determines which students are admitted to public universities.
The students were traveling to Shekay district where the exam was taking place. The Taliban threatened to impose a fine in the amount of 40,000 Afghani (equivalent to $520) on each student if they attempted to participate in the exam.
For the next several days, the female high school students, along with their male relatives, staged protests against the Taliban’s action, demanding the government make an exception and allow those students who were prevented from taking the exam to take it at a new location on a different day. Eventually, the government relented and transported the students to Shaghanan district to take the exam.
The Taliban must understand that today’s Afghanistan is not the same as the country that they ruled in the 90s. Afghans today are willing to risk their lives for education and for the rights of women. If they truly wish to negotiate a sustainable peace, the Taliban must recognize and uphold the rights of all Afghan citizens and be willing to accept the inclusion of women and marginalized groups in the peace process.
WOMEN AND YOUTHS MUST HAVE A SAY IN THE PEACE PROCESS
In 2018, amid record levels of violence between the Taliban, the Afghan National Army, and U.S. troops, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani asked the Taliban to enter into peace talks with the government. The Taliban declined, but since that time there have been steps taken towards peace. These steps, including bilateral talks between the United States and the Taliban, have left Afghans feeling cautiously hopeful that the conflict, which began in 2001, might be drawing to a close. However, there are still many people harboring doubts. If the negotiations do result in peace, will it be sustainable or will the country be thrown back into the dark ages?
Education and women’s rights are two hot topics for Afghans. They want to ensure that if the Taliban is included in power sharing or given decision making authority, education and women’s rights will be protected. With mostly men negotiating, women are worried. They know that women, especially educated women, are important to the nation’s future and crucial in maintaining peace. “An educated mother will not allow her son to join terrorist and illegal armed groups. She will have more control over her children’s discipline than a mother who cannot read or write,” said Guljan, a female doctor from Zabul province. (Note: Her name has been changed to protect her identity.)
Guljan went on to describe why educated women and youth living in the provinces are more concerned about the return of the Taliban than women and youth living in Kabul. “I don’t think the Taliban will be as restrictive in the cities as they were in the 90s, as they know they will be watched by the media and the international community. But in the rural areas, they will intensify the implementation of their version of Sharia (Islamic law based on the teachings of the Qur’an and the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad), and some in the conservative communities will most likely side with the Taliban when it comes to women’s rights.”
It’s taken a great deal of hard work to achieve so much progress in women’s rights and girls’ education over the past two decades. People’s long-held beliefs had to shift. Men and boys had to change their attitudes toward women and girls. Community members had to make demands and protest when their demands were denied. But all that progress could be lost in the blink of an eye if the Taliban regain power. That’s why it’s crucial for more communities, particularly in rural and remote areas, to promote education, just like they did in Khost province. And it’s also crucial for all of us to give these communities the resources and support they desperately need to succeed.
The immediate benefit and long-term impact of educating a girl is astonishing. Health improves. Economies grow. Societies are transformed. When girls are educated, their families, communities, and nations prosper. Educated girls are changing the world. Here’s why:
1. An educated girl can increase her income. A girl with an extra year of education can earn 20% more income as an adult (The World Bank, 2011). More income means better nutrition and healthcare for her family. Living conditions improve. Income can be the impetus to get out from under the grinding cycle of poverty into a life with choices and opportunities.
2. She marries later. An educated girl breaks the cultural pattern of girls marrying as children. Girls with higher levels of education are also less likely to have children at an early age (UNESCO, 2013). Marrying later means she won’t be a child herself when she becomes a mother.
3. An educated mother has fewer children. She has better knowledge about contraception as well as increased opportunities for employment. An educated mother provides better care of her children at home, thus increasing the value of her children’s human capital and reducing the need for more children (IZA World of Labor, 2016).
4. Educated mothers are less likely to die in childbirth. Educated women’s knowledge about health care contributes to reduced maternal mortality rates during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. Increased education of girls also leads to more female health care providers to assist with prenatal medical care, labor and delivery, and follow-up care. Skilled care before, during, and after childbirth can save the lives of women and newborns (WHO, 2019).
5. Her children are healthier. The single biggest factor in reducing the mortality rate among children under five is more education for women (as reported in Scientific American, 2011). A literate mother has a 50% higher chance of her child surviving past the age of five (UNESCO, 2011). More education helps women make better decisions about prenatal care, basic hygiene, nutrition, and immunization, all of which contribute to healthier children.
6. Children of an educated mother are less likely to be malnourished. Malnutrition accounts for 45% of all deaths among children under five worldwide (Lancet Report, 2013). An educated mother is more likely to feed her children healthy food, to know the signs of malnourishment, and to take action if she suspects a problem. Adequate nutrition in the young child contributes to normal brain and physical development and overall better health and well-being.
7. She invests in future generations and her community. An educated woman invests nearly all (90%) of her income into her family and community (Phil Borges, Women Empowered: Inspiring Change in the Emerging World, 2007). Her knowledge influences how she raises her children and impacts her role in the family and the community. An educated mother is more than twice as likely to send her children to school (UNICEF, 2010) thus continuing the cycle of education and establishing a precedent for the generations that follow.
8. She experiences less discrimination. Girls and young women who are educated have a greater awareness of their rights (Education First: An Initiative of the United Nations Secretary General, 2012). They are more likely to stand up for themselves in male-dominated cultures and to advocate for themselves and their children.
9. She makes her own decisions. Educated girls and women have greater confidence and freedom to make decisions that affect their lives (Education First: An Initiative of the United Nations Secretary General, 2012). They’re better equipped to challenge the cultural imperative that women belong in the home, raising children and doing the chores. Education empowers young women to think beyond the cultural norms and pursue their dreams of a better life.
10. She’s safer. Education protects women from abuse (Atlantic Monthly, May 15, 2014). Extremists hate smart girls because smart girls are less likely to be kept down. Girls’ schooling has a protective effect against domestic violence, rape, and child marriage. Each additional year of schooling is associated with a 1% increase in a female’s ability to refuse sex with her partner. Women with some or completed secondary education have an 11 and 36% lower risk of violence, respectively, compared with women with no education (World Bank report, 2014). Educated women are more likely to work outside the home, avoid isolation, and earn income, all of which lessen their vulnerability to domestic and physical abuse.
Incredible things happen when a girl gets the education she needs. Her life and the lives of her children improve. She earns an income and contributes to the local economy. She models confidence and self-determination for her children and the girls and women in her community. Thanks to the support of donors like you, we can continue to empower girls and women in Central Asia, where education is changing the world, one girl at a time.
Earlier this year the United States commenced peace negotiations with the Taliban in the hope of ending its 18-year military engagement in Afghanistan. While peace is on the table, other pressing issues are also at stake, namely the future of Afghanistan’s women.
Of utmost concern among the Afghan people is the possibility that the Taliban might regain influence in their country. Memories of life under Taliban rule are painful and, with no women invited to the negotiating table, women’s rights are especially vulnerable. The notion that Afghanistan could return to the repressive regime of the Taliban puts fear into the hearts of Afghans everywhere, especially women.
Foreign invasions, wars, and the rise of extremist militant groups have colored the landscape of Afghanistan for the last forty years. Through it all, the rights of women were often exploited, abused, and — in the case of the Taliban — all but destroyed.
Prior to the 1979 Russian invasion, the story of women in Afghanistan reads very differently. The life of an Afghan woman largely mirrored the life of a woman living in the West. The government was progressive, the culture was rich in ideas, and women were free to go to school and work. In fact, from the 1930s to the late 1970s, fashionable Kabul was known as the “Paris of Central Asia.” Women dressed in stylish clothing and wore make-up. One in two government workers was a woman. Nearly three-quarters of Afghanistan’s teachers were women, and 40 percent of the physicians were female. Up until the early 1990s, women were making strides in education, work outside the home, and economic independence. Economic and livelihood programs that supported women to turn their handicrafts and other skills into money-making ventures were widely available, even in rural areas.
Russia’s 1979 invasion of Afghanistan started a downward spiral for Afghan women’s rights, culminating in the oppressive, extremist regime of the Taliban, which ran the country from 1996 to 2001.
Shortly after the Taliban came into power, the country’s infrastructure was destroyed. Most Afghans had no electricity and no phone service. Disconnected and geographically remote, Afghanistan was cut off from the rest of the world. Their economy was in shambles. The food supply was meager. Very few children, boys or girls, went to school. The girls who were able to go could not attend beyond fourth grade.
The years under the misogynistic Taliban regime were harsh for everyone, and nearly unbearable for women. Women could not leave their homes without a religiously-approved male companion, i.e. their father, husband, brother, or son. The wearing of burkas was mandatory. Women couldn’t work outside of the home. They couldn’t be treated by a male physician. Women were not allowed to bathe in the public baths despite the absence of running water in most homes.
Deprived of any semblance of independence or self-determination, the religious edicts stripped Afghan females of their inalienable rights as human beings. On the political front, the increasing infiltration of al-Qaeda led to greater and more frequent acts of terrorism, culminating in the catastrophic events of 9/11. With American troops in-country and the Taliban under siege, Afghans wanted peace above all else. They were eager to begin the hard work of reclaiming their country. For women, that work included regaining the rights they had been denied under the Taliban.
In the years following the 2001 U.S. offensive against the Taliban and the election of a democratic, civilian government, Afghans worked against overwhelming odds to rebuild their political, cultural, and social institutions. Even though conditions continued to be difficult, brave women and men overcame extraordinary challenges to fight for women’s rights. Women and minorities are now protected under the Afghan constitution. Girls go to school. Women lecture and teach in universities, and women hold leadership positions in government including one-fourth of the seats in Afghanistan’s parliament.
Today I study or I go to university because I want to be a director, a deputy minister, minister, a parliament member, or president. Any issue that would threaten my wishes and my ambitions I would never want it, whatever it is, peace or war. Therefore, our hope for peace is that whatever comes with peace, we want that our freedom for children, youth, adults, women, and the elderly, and rights for education would be maintained. – Mr. Ahmad Shah Safi, Legal Advisor to the Afghanistan Ministry of Agriculture
The Afghan constitution, signed on January 26, 2004, reinstated all the rights that women had been denied under the Taliban regime. To lose those rights now or at any time in the future would be an assault on the rights of women not only in Afghanistan, but across the globe as well.
In early 2019, the United States entered into peace talks with the Taliban creating bewilderment and concern among the Afghan people. They feared that a Taliban return to power would undermine the progress that the country has worked so hard to build since the regime fell nearly two decades ago.
In a March 5, 2019, interview with NPR, Zarlasht Halaimzai, co-founder of Time4RealPeace, explained the situation this way: “The U.S. is negotiating with a group that’s notorious for denying women[’s] basic human rights. [Women] are concerned that constitutional rights to health care and education will be denied. At the moment, the Afghan Constitution protects women’s rights. [The prospect of losing rights] is something that’s really alarming—not just for Afghan women but for anyone who cares about women’s rights.”
To present the Afghan woman’s perspective, we spoke to Nasrine Gross, a member of the Central Asia Institute’s Board of Directors. Born and raised in Afghanistan, educated at American University in Beirut, and employed for 20 years in information technology in the United States, Nasrine is uniquely qualified to comment on women’s issues in Afghanistan. Starting in 1996, Nasrine worked tirelessly to reinstate the inalienable rights of Afghan women made null and void by Taliban edicts. She collected 300,000 signatures worldwide in support of including women’s rights in the new Afghan constitution. Her tireless efforts to amplify the voices of hundreds of thousands of Afghan men and women who supported women’s rights and empowerment were successful; an equality clause protecting women and minorities was written into the Afghan constitution, signed in 2004.
At this juncture, it’s impossible to know what the results of the peace talks will mean for the future of Afghanistan. At a minimum, Nasrine wants to see the following outcomes for the women of Afghanistan:
While she remains optimistic, the worst-case scenario is a frightening one. “We do not want women’s rights to become a victim of peace!” says Nasrine.
The U.S. engagement in Afghanistan in 2001 extended beyond military operations to encompass a fight for women’s rights. Then First Lady Laura Bush spoke publicly in defense of women’s rights in Afghanistan and urged American women to lend their support. American women stepped up in droves, including a delegation that visited Afghanistan soon after the start of the military operation to better understand the horrendous treatment and abuse Afghan women had suffered under the Taliban.
Unfortunately, as the U.S. war in Afghanistan has worn on over the last 18 years with no solution in sight, the strong voices of American women who stood in solidarity with their Afghan sisters have largely gone quiet. Nasrine Gross asks, “Just because America is tired of the war in Afghanistan, are American women sick and tired of saying all women have the same inalienable rights?”
In February 2019, more than 700 women from 34 provinces across Afghanistan gathered at a conference in Kabul. Their purpose: to send an unequivocal message to the men now negotiating with the Taliban. “We want peace,” the women said, as reported in The New York Times (Feb 28, 2019), “but not at the cost of our rights.”
The fight for women’s rights in Afghanistan continues. We cannot send them into battle alone. Below are several ways to show your support:
Protecting the rights of women in Afghanistan is a critical step on the path toward ensuring the inalienable rights of all human beings throughout the world, regardless of their gender, age, nationality, religion, ethnicity, or income. Thank you for your support and for reading and sharing this post.
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