Afghan women return to school
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Date: 04 November, 2004
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Rooya, an English teacher at the Galaxy Women's Education Centre, talks to John Battle MP about how women in Afghanistan are eagerly looking forward to having the freedom and confidence to express themselves, and make their voices heard.
photo: Christian Aid/Robin Greenwood |
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'When the Taliban were defeated and universities opened for girls, it was a day of joy and happiness for all Herati girls'
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Today, Afghanistan's new constitution guarantees equal rights to women - a far cry from the days of the Taliban, when women and girls were forbidden from attending school and a time that saw literacy among women fall to an estimated 21%.
Now huge numbers of girls are returning to school. For many, getting to school isn't easy as Afghanistan's infrastructure was destroyed during the civil war. Some people in remote villages have never had any schooling at all.
The Galaxy Women's Training Centre, based in Herat in western Afghanistan, is the only institution in the whole province that provides training for women and girls to improve their chances of employment.
Run by Christian Aid partner, Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (CHA), the centre provides training in English, computing, science, fine art and literacy, as well as office and other vocational skills.
Saba, a student at the centre, was 11-years old when the Taliban came to power. During Taliban rule, she and others like her, risked beatings, arrest and even jail by attending secret home-based schools run by local female teachers.
'When the Taliban were defeated and universities opened for girls, it was a day of joy and happiness for all Herati girls', says Saba.
Now there are 800 students at the training centre aged between 10-and-40 years old. There's also a pre-school facility that allows mothers with young children to attend classes.
Laaha is a computer teacher at the centre. During the Soviet occupation, her family left Afghanistan for Iran, where she grew up and received her education.
They returned to Herat when the Taliban fell in 2002, almost 25 years later.
'I'm happy to come back to Herat to transfer my skills and knowledge to these girls so that they can contribute to the reconstruction process of our country', she says.
Many of the students are aiming for university degrees in engineering, medicine, journalism or social sciences.
Last year, of the 1,500 students from Herat who entered university, 500 were women and 70% of these women were students from the centre.
Razia, another student at the centre, says 'It has made a real difference in our lives. If this centre was not here, we would not be able to learn these skills.'
Not all women in Afghanistan have the same access to a good standard of education, but in western Afghanistan, the Galaxy Women's Training Centre is opening up new horizons for its students and helping to strengthen the role of women in Afghan society.
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