Women’s Education in Afghanistan Post-Taliban Takeover

In August of 2021, the Afghanistan government quickly collapsed under Taliban militant insurgent pressure following the United States’ forces’ catastrophic withdrawal from the country.⁷

The Taliban takeover has disproportionately affected Afghani women and girls. The events of the last year have proven that the Taliban are focused on the intentional erasure of women from public life in Afghanistan and from enjoying ordinary freedoms allowed elsewhere in the world such as holding political office and having a voice on television and radio.¹Accessing education has been incredibly difficult in many parts of Afghanistan and furthermore, it is impossible for millions of girls in the country to participate in academic life because the Taliban are actively denying young women aged 12-18-years-old school access past elementary instruction; in other words, girls can’t study beyond the sixth grade.

Education denial is just one cold reality for children which correlates directly to the gripping state of affairs influencing Afghanistan under the current Taliban siege. As in any dictatorship, there are circumstances steadily burdening the Afghani citizenry which remain out of local leadership’s control, largely unclarified to the press, and hidden from the international community. Many citizens, especially women, are attempting to flee the country. National leaders have halted foreign aid for health and education due to persistent fear that the money will end up in the hands of the Taliban while the extremist organization remains associated with acts of terror.²

The violent diminishing of girls’ rights presents itself as a clear, ongoing example of a terrorist act. A lack of education decreases girls’ chances of securing employment. Without the opportunity to earn money, they can’t help care for their loved ones. While a lack of monetary wealth and widespread hunger always are constant challenges for under-resourced families in Afghanistan, new reports warn of a concerning increase in child marriages as poor families are unable to provide for their kids and then proceed to make the desperate wedding arrangements in hopes that their young daughters will escape poverty. The future is grim for girls in early wedlock; research shows they are “more likely to experience domestic violence, discrimination, abuse and poor mental health.”³

Uncompromising Taliban leaders are undeniably misogynistic in their approach to free education, applying restrictions heavily in all academic sectors from teaching opportunities for females, girls’ dress and school curriculum, girls’ ability to co-study with male peers, and girls’ right to protest these terrible violations of their livelihood. ⁴ ⁵ Families in Afghanistan facing the country’s financial crisis are also forced to consider if education is worth risking the safety of the women in their lives. While some families are fortunate enough to have internet access, girls’ worries about being heavily monitored extend from scrutiny of their basic public presence into their online activity as well.

Girls in Afghanistan are also rarely successful in establishing a connection with one of the limited number of pro education community based organizations (or CBE’s for community based education), and this is particularly true for girls in rural areas of the country.¹⁰ Amidst strict Taliban repression and vigilance, CBE’s run school programs underground to provide children with essential in-person and remote learning tools–two small, but effective steps perhaps towards solving the nationwide teacher and funding shortages.⁶ ⁸ ⁹

(The following blog addition is in development, pending our partnership confirmation.)

LEARN is one such community-oriented entity dedicated to amazing, progressive work geared towards helping re-establish a platform for girls in education.¹¹ LEARN connects young women to in-person schools and the organization’s website (https://learnafghan.org/) has resources readily available for practical educational use by students in Afghanistan who have the technology and internet access points. The curriculum engages kids in subjects like biophysics, chemistry, math, and feminist literature. Girls gain skills that will help them secure employment and achieve financial stability. While LEARN’s instructor team is limited in size, all of the current teachers are locally-educated women who are dedicated to the children of Afghanistan, in spite of the fact that rebelling against Taliban extremist rule endangers the teachers themselves and students in attendance assume considerable risk as well. LEARN’s grassroots fight for education in Afghanistan is certainly a bold statement of hope and defiance in the name of girls’ human rights.

Tutor Zone has contacted LEARN to understand the ongoing hardships of young women and their educational opportunities as they are being repressed by the Taliban. Our company aspires to directly support the continuation of Afghani girls’ academic advancement and in doing so, we’ll help counteract the abrupt and violent denial of girls’ civil rights. With 15 years of operational experience, our Tutor Zone team (which is comprised of about 85% female instructors) is excited for the chance to create a powerful, structured collaboration with LEARN that will allow us to teach girls in Afghanistan online in many subject areas and across all grade levels. Our first goal is to launch a pilot program focused on teaching girls in Afghanistan the English language. They will gain skills that can be immediately applied in conversational practice amongst their peers and in their future workplaces. We understand that Afghani girls need strong role models during these challenging times and this excellent partnership would add a workforce of competent educators from another part of the world to their team, rooting them in a healthy community of women and girls’ rights supporters.

By: Daisy Ocampo

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Women’s Education in Afghanistan Post-Taliban Takeover

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