Photos by Sa ' adia Khan establishing a school for girls . “ We ask the community to be involved in the process and provide space in the village . We recruit teachers from the village . We establish a village council , or shura , to oversee the school . We go to the religious people to explain the importance of education for girls .”
Given the disproportionately low school enrollment rate among girls , especially in rural areas , as well as the difficulties for girls to access formal schools , CAI and its partners prioritize educational programs for girls . According to Mustafa , communities question this emphasis on girls ’ education . And they often push back on the notion of hiring female teachers , saying they should not be hired over a male teacher and should instead remain in the home . “ So we talk with the village elders and convince those people to let the females be involved in our project ,” he explains .
Most importantly , Mustafa and his colleagues emphasize that the community has real ownership of their school . “ We tell them that this program is for you and for your children ,” he says . “ You should monitor this program . You should monitor if our organization properly provides services to your children .”
Sometimes Mustafa and his team point to other nearby villages that have experienced the benefits of girls ’
education . Or they ’ ll try to show that educating girls does not go against the community ’ s culture , customs , or religion . In the end , most villages do embrace CBE , and only in rare circumstances has the team had to give up and move on to another village .
FINDING A WAY FORWARD UNDER TALIBAN RULE
Of course , with the Taliban back in control of the government , the advances made in girls ’ education are in serious jeopardy . Under the group ’ s strict interpretation of Islam , high school and university-level female students face far greater restrictions on their right to attend school , and possibly risk being banned from school altogether . But CAI and its partners , having worked in conservative areas over the last two decades , have learned to find a way forward that we hope will prove successful in combating new restrictions .
For example , when Mustafa learned that the head of education for the
Taliban wanted to shut down a computer class for teenage girls in Nangarhar province , he went to the man ’ s office and convinced him to allow the class to continue . He and his team have also worked strenuously to encourage the village shuras ( councils ) to keep their community-based schools open — and they have . In fact , for some communities , the more the Taliban restricts girls ’ education , the more they want to create these schools .
There is no telling exactly how far things will go . Yet CAI and its partners , having learned over the past two decades to bridge the cultural divide in conservative areas , remain hopeful . Besides the huge increases in the number of Afghan girls and women who have been educated over the past 20 years , one of the most notable changes in Afghanistan has been the attitude towards education . In 2019 , 87 % of Afghans surveyed were in favor of girls ’ education , according to The Asia Foundation . This is no surprise given the value that educated females bring to their families and communities in terms of improved health , income , and quality of life . While the Taliban leadership may hope to turn back the clock , the changes in attitudes won ' t be easy to reverse . This is cause for hope . Y
* Names have been changed out of concern for people ’ s safety .
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