On a sunny day, a young shepherd named Omar goes out to the field to tend to his flock. As he does, his mother tended to her young children in their home while his father began his daily chores. Without warning, the ground rose up and shook violently, turning the soil into a liquid mass. The young shepherd deserted his flock, tearing straight to his home. Except it no longer stood. Within moments of the earthquake, entire villages crumbled to dust. Trapped inside were families, desperate to escape, found buried beneath the clay bricks that once constituted a home. The shepherd’s worst fears lay bare beneath the ruins of the place he’d left only a short time ago. His two young brothers and one sister never had a chance. The home became a grave. “It was 10 o'clock in the morning, and I was working on the farm when a heavy earthquake struck our area,” said Omar. “I ran back home to see if my family members were ok. When I reached home, everybody was lying down under the dustbags. …
Afghanistan
International Day of the Girl Child 2023
A society prospers when it invests in its citizens. This means it ensures that they are well educated, receive proper health care and nutrition, and most of all, recognized for their ability to accomplish whatever they set their minds to. However, this is not always the case. There are many challenges that Afghan girls, who make up half their country’s population, face. Sometimes, too many. These girls have shouldered some of the worst burdens that society has put upon them. Here are some sobering facts about Afghan girls and the future they face: In Afghanistan, girls are forbidden from attending school after the sixth grade. While it’s an option for Afghan girls to learn via the internet, only 18% of Afghans have access to it. That access also depends upon electricity, a utility that has proven to be anything but dependable, with frequent power cuts. Online learning also depends upon girls having computers. With many families too poor to afford one, access to education is …
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Let Afghan Girls Learn
It’s that time of the year again, when children of all ages put away their summer memories and pack their school bags with new notebooks and pens. They’ll receive a Chromebook in homeroom and sit in clean, well-lit classrooms, at laminated desks or tables. For some, it’ll be a new experience, entering kindergarten. Others will enter their last year as seniors, contemplating which college they’ll go to, or maybe a trade school. Now imagine if half those children were told they couldn’t go to school, couldn’t go to college, couldn’t be trained in a trade. What if half of those parents couldn't allow their children from attending school because they faced similar restrictions? This is the state of education for females in Afghanistan. Girls seeking to elevate themselves through education no longer have the right to do so. The de facto Taliban regime waffled on how education was to be delivered to females. First, it was segregated classrooms. That was followed by the elimination …
Dismantled Rights
During the US-led NATO military presence in Afghanistan (2001-2021), the Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MOWA) advocated for the rights of women into law. While these rights were met with skepticism, if not outright hostility, with certain segments of Afghan society and the Afghan parliament, it was a promising way forward. The Law on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (EVAW LAW) was issued by decree by President Hamid Karzai in 2009 and by President Ashraf Ghani in 2018. Injustices such as domestic violence, forced marriage, immolation, forced prostitution, and many others, became illegal. Women and girls became free to pursue an education, enjoy fresh air and socialize in parks, travel wherever and whenever they pleased. School-aged girls’ dreams came true as young women graduating from university. That all came to a halt on August 15, 2021, when the Taliban took over Afghanistan. Like water dripping on stone, the rights women had come to enjoy eroded. Shortly after the …
The Cost of an Education
In Western society, education is often taken for granted. School is part of growing up. Kids look forward to socializing with friends, and taking advantage of a myriad of educational opportunities and extracurricular activities. Buildings are spacious, have running water, windows, heating, and safety features. Classrooms are equipped with the latest technology. Girls and boys have the equal right to learn. After elementary and high school, a college education or trade schools are viable options. It’s something that most parents in the West don’t think about as they wave goodbye to their children riding that yellow school bus in the mornings. But in Afghanistan, this is another matter entirely. Infrastructure to support schools is severely lacking, especially in remote parts of the country. Some schools have been heavily damaged by the ongoing conflict in the country or terrorist attacks. There aren’t enough resources to refurbish damaged schools. Children attend classes in …
For Daily Bread
After the Taliban takeover on August 15, 2021, Afghanistan has deteriorated into a state of humanitarian crisis. International donors have all but disappeared. The country's economy and infrastructure has collapsed. Women and girls are barred from education, work, and most forms of participation in society. A massive exodus of educators, doctors, and professionals from the country has gutted the public, health, and private sectors. Afghans are unable to meet their every day needs to survive, much less weather the impact of natural disasters or any other form of emergency in their lives. Women for Afghan Women (WAW) recognized this dire situation and stepped in to make a difference. After the Taliban closed much of WAW’s operations, including all of its family guidance and women’s protection centers, it has regrouped its resources, reassigned staff able to work, and quickly pivoted to providing emergency and humanitarian aid. After only 18 months since the fall of Kabul WAW’s …