Herat businessman provides free education for hundreds of Afghan girls

HERAT -- A businessman in Herat province has started a free private school to educate Afghan girls.

More than 600 girls who have lost their parents or cannot afford to attend school are enrolled at the Ahmad Shah Faqiri Relief School.

The school has the capacity to accept students up to grade 12, but it enrolls girls only in first to sixth grade because of the current ban on girls' schooling in Afghanistan.

"My purpose for opening this school is to help girls study and build a bright future for themselves and their families," said Shoaib Faqiri, the school's chief executive officer.

"These girls come from very poor families, and they couldn't afford to study at public or private schools."

"Our teams look for orphaned and impoverished girls throughout the western region and register them at the school once they are found eligible. We provide all learning materials and resources free of cost to the girls," he said.

The school has provided education for girls who were entirely deprived of attending school, as their families could not afford it, said Sahiba Momin, the school principal.

"In addition to free tuition, the school provides free books, stationery and uniform for these girls," she said.

"We have a well-equipped library, laboratory and computer lab, where the girls take practical lessons," she added.

"Our students are very talented, and they have earned prizes in a number of talent competitions in Herat province," Momin said.

Pursuing dreams

Although Faqiri school students grapple with poverty, they try achieving their dreams through education.

Sana, 8, a third-grade student from a poor family whose father is sick, wants to become a teacher and educate Afghan girls.

"The school has fulfilled all our needs, and we study with peace of mind," she added.

"If it weren't for this school, we couldn't study and achieve our dreams. My sisters and I want to study and lift our family out of poverty. I hope that I get educated so I can have a better life."

Sana said she studies with a strong spirit and motivation so that she can serve Afghanistan as an educated woman in the future.

Marjan Usmani, 13, a sixth-grade student who has lost her father, said she wants to study despite the difficulties in her life so she can achieve her dream of becoming a doctor.

"My family is too poor to buy even a notebook," she said.

"This school has given me all the learning material for free. I want to use this opportunity to study so that I can create a bright future for myself."

"If it weren't for this school, I wouldn't be able to study," she added.

"Difficulties in life have made me resilient, and I'm determined to support myself and my family with education," she said, adding that getting educated is the only way out of the darkness.

Concerns about the education ban

Rising seventh-graders at the school are concerned about the ban on girls' education in the country. They include Muhadesa Sarwari, 12.

"I will graduate from the sixth grade in just a few months, but if schools don't take girls like me for grades above the sixth, I will be deprived of education," she said.

"I hope the schools open soon so girls can continue their education."

"I want to become a doctor, so I study day and night," she added.

Muhadesa said she would like to become a physician to travel to remote areas and help underserved women and girls.

Isra Jahani, 12, said it pains her that middle and high schools have remained shut for girls, and she is worried that she will be deprived of education like thousands of other girls.

"I don't want to stay home after I complete the sixth grade in a few months," she said.

"I'm still a kid, and I want to study. I want to become an engineer and serve my country," she said, adding that "in all countries, including Muslim countries, girls get an education and move forward freely."

"We too want to study and help our country prosper," Isra said.