As the situation in Afghanistan worsens by the day, it becomes crucial to become aware and help in any way possible. And the first step to that is understanding the tremendous negative impact the Taliban rule has had on the citizens, especially women. Today, we’re talking about the impact of Taliban on women education.
Impact Of Taliban On Women Education In Afghanistan In The Future:
Dismissal of women professors and students
In Kabul alone, over 8000 female university students were dismissed (the number seems low because most don’t make it into college). In addition, 7793 women teachers were dismissed, which further prompted dropping out of women students due to the unwillingness of family members to let their women be taught by males. About 63 schools have shut down.
Statistics show the immensity of impact
Usually, huge numbers are incomprehensible to humans. They seem large, but the impact of their true quantity never washes upon us because our brains aren’t designed for that. It’s simply hard to imagine the amount of impact when the numbers are large. Regardless, the numbers are quite frightening – for several reasons. According to our best and most optimistic estimates, the proportion of Afghan girls never goes beyond 50% and rarely ever beyond 40%. And the scariest part is that the government inflates these numbers to the UN, making it harder to decipher the real situation due to the inaccessibility.
Women are speaking out, indirectly
The result of extreme oppression is often a kind of quiet revolution – revolution through words and ideas. Years ago, Khaled Hosseini added a literary dimension to the Taliban rule with A Thousand Splendid Suns, making the whole world shake with fury at the plight of women in Afghanistan. Now, the Human Rights Watch has featured a research paper titled ‘I wont be a doctor and one day you will be sick ’.
Discriminatory attitudes at home add to the impact
The Taliban refuses to provide education, yes, but societal attitudes add to the impact. People in Afghanistan are largely opposed to women getting educated. The women are married off early. They have neither a source of income to rely on nor any education to stand up for themselves.
Taliban attitudes towards women education
Under the Taliban watch, only one third women go to schools. During their five year rule from 1996 to 2001, they actively prohibited women education. In addition, the Taliban refuses to fund women education – all funding comes from donors only. Their most systematic and destructive way of gaining obedience is refusing to educate people and hence make them aware of their dire states.
Political turmoil has shifted the focus – results are dire
Taliban has directed all its resources – money, time, power to strengthening the military prowess of the army and keeping their hold over the country. In the process, social causes like women education are not only out of the question, but also subject to disregard due to the patriarchal mindset of the people.
Prevalence of child marriage
The Taliban law has laid down the marriageable age for girls as 15 years, or 14 with parental consent. And that too is in theory. In practice, this age is much lower. Plus, most girls are forced to drop out of school as soon as they are engaged or married. This also results in early deaths due to early pregnancies, disallowing education.
Taliban’s usage as schools as military bases
Forty one percent, according to Human Rights Watch, of all afghani schools have buildings. That means, less than half of schools operate without physical presence! This adds to the problem of usage of existent and designated school buildings for non-schooling purposes. For the Taliban, it means for military purposes. Abodes of learning are used as perpetrators of death and terror.
The law provides leeway
The law of Afghanistan hasn’t provided for compulsory education at all, and the result is that people get away with not educating their children. Under the terror of the Taliban rule, especially, education has been pushed on the sidelines by the government, citizens and girls themselves.
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