On 10 December 1948, representatives of the United Nations gathered in Paris, France to attend the United Nations General Assembly. It was then that The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was proclaimed. The Declaration includes 30 Articles that highlight the rights that the United Nations has deemed to be fundamental for all human beings. Among these rights is the right to education for all. It is featured in detail in Article 26 of the Declaration.
Article 26.
(1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
(2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
(3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children. (Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
Afghanistan has been a member of the United Nations since November 19, 1946 and yet the fundamental right to education for all is not being adequately met in that country. “In January 2016, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimated that 40 percent of all school-age children in Afghanistan do not attend school. Relying on Afghan government data from 2010-2011, UNICEF said that 66 percent of Afghan girls of lower secondary school age—12 to 15 years old—are out of school, compared to 40 percent of boys that age” (Barr). So why does this happen? Why are over half of the school age girls in Afghanistan not attending school? What is preventing girls in this country from receiving an education?
There are many obstacles that are preventing girls from receiving an education in Afghanistan. Obstacles are present both outside of the school system and within the school system itself. Gender norms and roles within the country is one obstacle. Overall, boys are valued more than girls and that leads to boys’ education being the priority over the education of girls. There is also the issue of young marriage and even child marriage. Many girls in Afghanistan marry before the age of 18, and although no girl younger than 15 is legally allowed to marry, even with her father’s permission, these marriages still occur. Marrying so young, causes many girls to drop out of school in order to devote more of their time to the home and their husband. Poverty is another obstacle that children and families face in Afghanistan. Poverty stricken children are forced to work to help support their family. Their jobs often include long hours and dangerous conditions. Children are forced to either juggle both work and school or drop out of school entirely in an effort to help support their family.
Safety and security is a huge issue for parents and students. The Taliban controls over 40 percent of Afghanistan’s districts and this poses a problem for students and their parents. Children are not only being injured and killed in the conflict with the Taliban, but they are being denied education as well. Families are hesitant to send their children, especially their girls, to school because the walk to school and the school itself may no longer be safe. The Taliban often targets girls’ schools, female students, and teachers. School bombings, acid attacks on female students, and threats against teachers are not uncommon and these attacks can prevent a large number of parents from sending their girls to school. Because of the war, there is a level of unruliness that also puts girls in danger. Girls are often targets of crime and harassment. There has been a rise in the sexual harassment of girls and child kidnappings. These obstacles often deter parents from sending their children, especially their girls, to school.
There are also issues inside of the school system. The general lack of schools and teachers makes access to education very difficult for many. There are no tuition costs at government schools but families are still expected to provide supplies, like notebooks and pens, for their children. Because of a shortage of textbooks, many children also must find and pay for their own books. These small costs are enough to keep children from very poor families from attending school. For families that cannot afford to provide supplies for all of their children, often the boys in the family are given the chance to attend school before the girls. There is also an issue of overcrowding in schools and the lack of proper buildings for schools. This means that many children attend school in tents or outside. Overcrowding also means that many schools split their days into shifts in order to accommodate all of the students, which leads to each school session being too short to cover the full curriculum. Many schools also lack adequate drinking water and toilets. The quality of teachers is also very poor. Not only are teachers challenged with poor working conditions and a lack of supplies, but they are themselves often undereducated and under qualified to teach. The shortage of teachers is especially apparent with female teachers. This poses a problem for parents of girls, who do not accept the idea of their older girls, especially those who have gone through puberty, being taught by men and will often pull them out of school if a female teacher is not readily available.
Government policies are often an obstacle for girls attending school. Within government schools, students are often required to provide identification of some kind and official letters of transfer if they are moving from one school to another. For families fleeing war or for very poor families, these requirements are not always possible to obtain. Because women are discriminated against in Afghanistan, many Afghan girls do not have proper identification, making it even more difficult for them to enroll in school.
Community-based education programs are many times the only chance girls have to an education. These schools, however, also pose issues to students. They often require students to travel long distances to school, placing them in danger from outside forces. Like government schools, community-based schools, also face the problem of a shortage of female teachers. These schools are almost exclusively funded by foreign donors which can lead to the unpredictability of school closures.
A huge gap in the educational system in Afghanistan is the education of disabled students. The extra attention and resources that students with disabilities often require to receive an adequate education are not readily available to them. There is no system to identify and meet the needs of these children and they often just slip through the cracks of an already flawed educational system.
Afghanistan is one of the most corrupt countries in the world and much of that corruption occurs in the educational system. From corrupting school construction contracts to theft of supplies and salaries, the girls in Afghanistan seeking an education are facing a difficult fight. (Barr)
One woman, Shabana Basij-Rasikh, is actively fighting for equal education for girls in Afghanistan. Many girls participate in “bacha posh” which translates to “dressed like a boy”. Girls in Afghanistan are dressing as boys in order to safely attend school and to combat issues of harassment that they face on their walk to school. Basij-Rasikh is fighting for change. In 2008, she co-founded SOLA, which is the School of Leadership, Afghanistan. SOLA is the first boarding school in Afghanistan for young women. “Basij-Rasikh said she wants to provide girls an opportunity to leave their homes - without having to dress as boys - and access the means to achieve high school and college-level educations that will help them eventually become some of the first women to enter their fields” (Smith). The program has significantly grown in the almost ten years since it was founded. The program that started as a scholarship program has become a boarding school and has grown from accommodating ninth- through twelfth-grade to sixth- through twelfth-grade. Girls travel from all areas of the country of Afghanistan to attend school at SOLA. The program is very exclusive in that only 26 students of the 104 applicants were admitted into the new class this year.
Basij- Rasikh feels that this oversight in the education of Afghanistan children “is so dangerous because it’s such a loss of opportunity. Every direction we turn, there’s a great need in Afghanistan, whether it’s in healthcare, education, environment, medicine or elsewhere” (Smith). Basij-Rasikh pushes the boundaries by exposing the girls at her school to as much of the outside world as she can. The girls talk with outside mentors virtually every week. This helps them develop an outlook of the world outside of their own families, communities, and country. Students are also given the opportunity to travel to India. Although the culture between Afghanistan and India are very similar, this experience opens the students up to new experiences. Basij-Rasikh hopes to not only academically educate the girls that are in her care, but she also hopes to educate them about different cultures and traditions outside of what they are used to.
SOLA is hoping to expand and has a goal of receiving a land grant from the government of Afghanistan to build a permanent campus for the school. The school enrollment is growing and they hope to grow by 25 students each year. As of now, 100 percent of the funding for the school comes from donations and grants. Basij-Rasikh hopes to set up an endowment fund so the school will not be relying so heavily on donations in the future. They also hope to expand the school to more than one location to reach more girls throughout Afghanistan.
Although, according to The United Nations Council and The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, education is a fundamental right of all human beings, there are young people in parts of the world that are being denied this right. Afghan girls and their parents are fighting for education and there are a number of obstacles in their way. Forces outside of the school system, like societal gender norms and the threat of repercussion from the Taliban and other forces, make it difficult for girls to attend school and for parents to safely send their daughters to school. There are also forces inside of the school system that are working against the girls. The lack of schools and teachers and the general overcrowding of schools are just a few of the reasons that many girls in Afghanistan find it difficult to attend school. There are individuals within the school system and outside of the school system that are attempting to combat some of the obstacles that the girls face, but they are only capable of repairing so much damage.
Works Cited
Barr, Heather. "I Won't Be a Doctor, and One Day You'll Be Sick." 17 October 2017. Human Rights Watch. 24 October 2017.
Smith, Casey. "Inside the Afghan School Where Girls Can Dress Like Girls." National Geographic (2017). online.
"Universal Declaration of Human Rights." 10 Month 1948. United Nations. 23 October 2017.
Article 26.
(1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
(2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
(3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children. (Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
Afghanistan has been a member of the United Nations since November 19, 1946 and yet the fundamental right to education for all is not being adequately met in that country. “In January 2016, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimated that 40 percent of all school-age children in Afghanistan do not attend school. Relying on Afghan government data from 2010-2011, UNICEF said that 66 percent of Afghan girls of lower secondary school age—12 to 15 years old—are out of school, compared to 40 percent of boys that age” (Barr). So why does this happen? Why are over half of the school age girls in Afghanistan not attending school? What is preventing girls in this country from receiving an education?
There are many obstacles that are preventing girls from receiving an education in Afghanistan. Obstacles are present both outside of the school system and within the school system itself. Gender norms and roles within the country is one obstacle. Overall, boys are valued more than girls and that leads to boys’ education being the priority over the education of girls. There is also the issue of young marriage and even child marriage. Many girls in Afghanistan marry before the age of 18, and although no girl younger than 15 is legally allowed to marry, even with her father’s permission, these marriages still occur. Marrying so young, causes many girls to drop out of school in order to devote more of their time to the home and their husband. Poverty is another obstacle that children and families face in Afghanistan. Poverty stricken children are forced to work to help support their family. Their jobs often include long hours and dangerous conditions. Children are forced to either juggle both work and school or drop out of school entirely in an effort to help support their family.
Safety and security is a huge issue for parents and students. The Taliban controls over 40 percent of Afghanistan’s districts and this poses a problem for students and their parents. Children are not only being injured and killed in the conflict with the Taliban, but they are being denied education as well. Families are hesitant to send their children, especially their girls, to school because the walk to school and the school itself may no longer be safe. The Taliban often targets girls’ schools, female students, and teachers. School bombings, acid attacks on female students, and threats against teachers are not uncommon and these attacks can prevent a large number of parents from sending their girls to school. Because of the war, there is a level of unruliness that also puts girls in danger. Girls are often targets of crime and harassment. There has been a rise in the sexual harassment of girls and child kidnappings. These obstacles often deter parents from sending their children, especially their girls, to school.
There are also issues inside of the school system. The general lack of schools and teachers makes access to education very difficult for many. There are no tuition costs at government schools but families are still expected to provide supplies, like notebooks and pens, for their children. Because of a shortage of textbooks, many children also must find and pay for their own books. These small costs are enough to keep children from very poor families from attending school. For families that cannot afford to provide supplies for all of their children, often the boys in the family are given the chance to attend school before the girls. There is also an issue of overcrowding in schools and the lack of proper buildings for schools. This means that many children attend school in tents or outside. Overcrowding also means that many schools split their days into shifts in order to accommodate all of the students, which leads to each school session being too short to cover the full curriculum. Many schools also lack adequate drinking water and toilets. The quality of teachers is also very poor. Not only are teachers challenged with poor working conditions and a lack of supplies, but they are themselves often undereducated and under qualified to teach. The shortage of teachers is especially apparent with female teachers. This poses a problem for parents of girls, who do not accept the idea of their older girls, especially those who have gone through puberty, being taught by men and will often pull them out of school if a female teacher is not readily available.
Government policies are often an obstacle for girls attending school. Within government schools, students are often required to provide identification of some kind and official letters of transfer if they are moving from one school to another. For families fleeing war or for very poor families, these requirements are not always possible to obtain. Because women are discriminated against in Afghanistan, many Afghan girls do not have proper identification, making it even more difficult for them to enroll in school.
Community-based education programs are many times the only chance girls have to an education. These schools, however, also pose issues to students. They often require students to travel long distances to school, placing them in danger from outside forces. Like government schools, community-based schools, also face the problem of a shortage of female teachers. These schools are almost exclusively funded by foreign donors which can lead to the unpredictability of school closures.
A huge gap in the educational system in Afghanistan is the education of disabled students. The extra attention and resources that students with disabilities often require to receive an adequate education are not readily available to them. There is no system to identify and meet the needs of these children and they often just slip through the cracks of an already flawed educational system.
Afghanistan is one of the most corrupt countries in the world and much of that corruption occurs in the educational system. From corrupting school construction contracts to theft of supplies and salaries, the girls in Afghanistan seeking an education are facing a difficult fight. (Barr)
One woman, Shabana Basij-Rasikh, is actively fighting for equal education for girls in Afghanistan. Many girls participate in “bacha posh” which translates to “dressed like a boy”. Girls in Afghanistan are dressing as boys in order to safely attend school and to combat issues of harassment that they face on their walk to school. Basij-Rasikh is fighting for change. In 2008, she co-founded SOLA, which is the School of Leadership, Afghanistan. SOLA is the first boarding school in Afghanistan for young women. “Basij-Rasikh said she wants to provide girls an opportunity to leave their homes - without having to dress as boys - and access the means to achieve high school and college-level educations that will help them eventually become some of the first women to enter their fields” (Smith). The program has significantly grown in the almost ten years since it was founded. The program that started as a scholarship program has become a boarding school and has grown from accommodating ninth- through twelfth-grade to sixth- through twelfth-grade. Girls travel from all areas of the country of Afghanistan to attend school at SOLA. The program is very exclusive in that only 26 students of the 104 applicants were admitted into the new class this year.
Basij- Rasikh feels that this oversight in the education of Afghanistan children “is so dangerous because it’s such a loss of opportunity. Every direction we turn, there’s a great need in Afghanistan, whether it’s in healthcare, education, environment, medicine or elsewhere” (Smith). Basij-Rasikh pushes the boundaries by exposing the girls at her school to as much of the outside world as she can. The girls talk with outside mentors virtually every week. This helps them develop an outlook of the world outside of their own families, communities, and country. Students are also given the opportunity to travel to India. Although the culture between Afghanistan and India are very similar, this experience opens the students up to new experiences. Basij-Rasikh hopes to not only academically educate the girls that are in her care, but she also hopes to educate them about different cultures and traditions outside of what they are used to.
SOLA is hoping to expand and has a goal of receiving a land grant from the government of Afghanistan to build a permanent campus for the school. The school enrollment is growing and they hope to grow by 25 students each year. As of now, 100 percent of the funding for the school comes from donations and grants. Basij-Rasikh hopes to set up an endowment fund so the school will not be relying so heavily on donations in the future. They also hope to expand the school to more than one location to reach more girls throughout Afghanistan.
Although, according to The United Nations Council and The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, education is a fundamental right of all human beings, there are young people in parts of the world that are being denied this right. Afghan girls and their parents are fighting for education and there are a number of obstacles in their way. Forces outside of the school system, like societal gender norms and the threat of repercussion from the Taliban and other forces, make it difficult for girls to attend school and for parents to safely send their daughters to school. There are also forces inside of the school system that are working against the girls. The lack of schools and teachers and the general overcrowding of schools are just a few of the reasons that many girls in Afghanistan find it difficult to attend school. There are individuals within the school system and outside of the school system that are attempting to combat some of the obstacles that the girls face, but they are only capable of repairing so much damage.
Works Cited
Barr, Heather. "I Won't Be a Doctor, and One Day You'll Be Sick." 17 October 2017. Human Rights Watch. 24 October 2017.
Smith, Casey. "Inside the Afghan School Where Girls Can Dress Like Girls." National Geographic (2017). online.
"Universal Declaration of Human Rights." 10 Month 1948. United Nations. 23 October 2017.