Education

Deprived of conventional studies, Afghan girls seek knowledge in home schooling

By Omar

One young Afghan woman has vowed to effect change for other Afghan women and girls after she completes her doctorate in Turkey. Manizha Bahra, 27, completed her master's in social sciences in Turkey in 2017 and was recently accepted to pursue her Ph.D. More than one million teenage girls have been deprived of education in Afghanistan over the past year, according to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). [Omar/Salaam Times]

HERAT -- Afghan girls, now in their second year of being barred from education after sixth grade, are struggling to keep learning nonetheless.

More than one million teenage girls have been deprived of education across the country over the past year, says the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).

"It is profoundly damaging to a generation of girls and to the future of Afghanistan itself," Markus Potzel, the acting chief of UNAMA, said in a statement September 18, calling it "tragic" and "shameful".

One Afghan woman has vowed to make a change in the lives of girls and women in her homeland after she completes her doctorate in Turkey.

Manizha Bahra, 27, is seen at her home library August 27 in Herat city. [Omar/Salaam Times]

Manizha Bahra, 27, is seen at her home library August 27 in Herat city. [Omar/Salaam Times]

In 2017, Manizha Bahra, 27, received a master's degree in social sciences from a Turkish university. She is now pursuing a Ph.D.

Afghan girls will not progress or be empowered unless they unite and enhance the skills to take on the very difficult journey ahead, she said, adding that she is determined to work towards providing learning opportunities for Afghan women and girls.

"After finishing my studies, I will return [to Afghanistan] and teach girls at a high level of education," she said. "If I stay in Turkey, I may have a decent life, but I am determined to return to my country and devote myself to half of Afghanistan's population [women and girls]."

Every Afghan girl has talents and capabilities, and given the opportunity, all girls could pursue higher education, said Bahra.

"Every Afghan girl can become a successful physician, engineer, economist, anthropologist or lawyer, but unfortunately, they have not been given the opportunity," she said.

The current gender restriction has inspired girls to study harder. The prevailing challenges have made them more determined to try harder and build a better future for themselves, she said.

Home schooling

All educated Afghan women should aim to support girls who have been deprived of schooling and should organise home-based classes for a group of girls in their neighborhood, said Bahra.

If every educated and literate woman teaches a girl, no girl will be left behind in her endeavour to acquire an education, she added.

Siddiqa Ghulami, a teacher in Herat city, said she is teaching some 50 girls at a private learning centre.

"Girls, who have been prohibited from going to school, learn school subjects, computer literacy and English at the learning centre. They are very motivated and work very hard," she said.

"We urge literate parents to teach their daughters and support them. In the current situation, girls need family support more than ever," she said.

All educated men and women have a duty in the current situation, which is to educate and support girls at home and help them enhance their knowledge and capabilities, said Ghulami.

A graduate of Herat University's faculty of science, Fawzia Ahmadi, who has yet to find a job, teaches her two sisters at home these days.

Her sisters are in the eighth and 11th grades, and she has organised a home-based school to teach them different topics, including English, she said.

Soon after girls' schools were closed, she decided to start teaching her sisters, she said, adding that they gained hope after she started teaching them.

"I call on other educated girls and women to allocate time and resources toward teaching their neighbours' daughters. Girls need their support now more than ever, and literate women can be their supporters," Ahmadi added.

Girls should continue to pursue their studies and parents must provide home-schooling opportunities for their daughters, she said.

Empowering girls

Afghan women and girls made historic strides in education over the past two decades and became an educated and empowered generation, say women's rights activists.

Women and girls have demonstrated their abilities in all fields, said Mariam Azizi of Herat, a women's rights activist.

"Although girls have always been restricted by Afghan traditions and they have faced obstacles and challenges, they have fought against these restrictions and reached their goals," she added.

"Girls scored the highest in the university entrance examination (Kankor) for many years and entered the best faculties. They also gained the highest scores at university," she said.

Corruption plummeted and the government ably served the public when women still worked in government offices, said Azizi.

Afghan girls are talented, and provided with the opportunity, they will make progress on all fronts, said Mohammad Nasir Fitrat, a civil society activist in Herat city.

"A girl held the first place in our class for four consecutive years. Girls used to gain the highest scores in our classes," said Fitrat, a graduate of Dari language from Herat University.

Referring to women and girls' achievements over the past decade, he mentioned the Afghan girls' robotics team as an example of talent and ability.

"The environment was favourable for them, and they have achieved recognition at the world level and received awards," he added.

"Afghan girls are talented and capable. All they need is the support to flourish," he said.

Countries around the world spend most of their resources on the education of their children and youth, so Afghanistan must also invest in the education of children, especially girls, said Fitrat.

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With this kind of thinking, I can say that Manizha is a girl with feelings and knowledge who is thinking of serving her people. Very little people have the ability to think this way, but in every corner of Afghanistan, in every region of Afghanistan, girls were illiterate and became illiterate. Some girls live in remote areas who do not know about education. Because of the tribal cultures, they do not allow the girls to study and now the government does not allow girls who want to study despite many problems to continue their education. Almighty God has made knowledge compulsory for men and women, but one of the leaders accepts this and the others do not. From one day to another, from one year to another, all the girls are waiting for the school gates to open for them, but it still doesn't happen. Why? Afghan girls are human too. can live freely. Why should it be restricted in this way? We request the current government to open the gates of schools for girls and not allow a poor and innocent generation to be destroyed.

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A few moments ago, I read on your website that the United States is increasing its humanitarian aid in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, I found that those aids are only for humanitarian purposes and are delivered to organizations like WFP and IOM to feed the people. I wish the United States would spend this money on the education sector. It’s true that girls’ schools are closed, but despite poor teaching quality, boys' schools are still open. The United States can boost the educational standards of Afghan schools and continue to work on solutions so that girls can also have access to education.

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Manijha has great thinking that very few people can have such thoughts. Thanks to her as she has made this decision and has shown her good intentions. If educated people in every region and house take such steps, I am sure that education will not be stopped, but I am saying that there are no educated young men/women who can do this kind of work in every region. For example, how will they provide education to the next generation in the Wakhan and Pamir regions of Afghanistan, where people do not even know about education, essential services, and good living? A few days ago, I saw a report on Shamshad TV. The reporter went to Wakhan to find out about the living conditions of the people. An old and very weak man told him that he had not gone to the city after Dawood Khan's era. So if someone doesn't even go to the city, how do you tell them to educate their children? We expected that there would be a war in Afghanistan for the past 20 years. And when the Emirate took over power, they didn't have an enemy, so there will be peace, thewouldill be life, love, and brotherhood would be glorious, but on the contrary, everything changed very quickly. We thought that in the cities, things would still be going on, and people would live a modern life, and the Taliban would focus on remote areas, but now that I see the Taliban, they are the same as they were in 1996. They were still silly the way there 25 years ago. They made the cities face difficulties, leave alone the suburbs. One leader

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The thoughts and intentions of Manijha Jan are the thoughts and intentions of great people. May God make her help Afghans and Afghanistan. We all should take Dr. Manijha as an example for ourselves. We should try to educate the younger generation or financially support them to get an education. The new ruling group in Afghanistan has its own opinion and thinking. I am not saying that their opinion is good or bad, but they have been trained that way from the beginning. The curriculum of religious schools in Pakistan is designed so that the trainees think they are the direct representatives of the prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The truth is that 1400 years have passed since the time of the Prophet (PBUH). We cannot reach that time. We cannot reach the time of his companions. We cannot even reach the period 500 years later of his era. One important thing is that Islam never stops education. Instead, the first word of the Holy Qur'an that Gabriel brought to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) from Allah (J) was Iqra (Read!). Let us participate directly and indirectly in the education efforts for the country's children by implementing this word. Long live Afghanistan.

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