Girls forced to stop attending school under Taliban are taking huge risks to keep studying – as are the teachers helping them
hen inspectors arrive at the school gate, which is most weeks now, the older girls know the drill. They slip away from their classes, race to a musty room and huddle together for long minutes that sometimes stretch into hours, hoping they won’t be discovered by the men who want them shut up at home.
“Psychologically they are under stress all the time, I can see in their eyes and behaviour. They used to come with lots of energy and excitement. Now they are never sure if this will be their last day in class. You can see how they are broken.” “She asked me, ‘will they kill you if they discover you?’ I told her no, they will probably just hit me. So she said ‘Do it, you’ll forget a slap in an hour or two.’”
An engineer who recently graduated near the top of her class at one of Afghanistan’s best universities, the 23-year-old worked on infrastructure projects until last summer, and misses her job terribly. But she sees little chance of being allowed back. On a recent afternoon, her students slipped across the fields in pairs in the afternoon heat, books in hand like girls going to school in any other country. When they noticed a stranger watching though, they gathered speed and ducked inside the mosque.
“Every day when we start and finish I talk to them a bit, and try to motivate them, with messages like ‘no knowledge is wasted’. I tell them I am here to teach and support you, you have to stay hopeful, take your opportunities.”Schools such as Mahdia’s are beacons of hope in a bleak time, and many of their students are filled with extraordinary defiance of the armed men who cut short their studies.
Illegal classes kept girls’ dreams alive last time the Taliban were in power. Those who defied the Taliban to study include the journalist Zahra Joya, named as one of Time magazine’s women of the year for 2022, and the educator and Washington Post columnist Shabana Basij-Rasikh. Secret schools all need private funding, and while some comes from NGOs, most rely on fees. Afghanistan’s economy is collapsing, expected to shrink by about a third, and many families are struggling to find money for school even when it is a priority.
“Education is everything,” said one father, whose 10-year-old daughter, something of a prodigy, is newly enrolled in 7th grade there. He found the school by doggedly asking about classes every time he saw girls coming out of a building carrying books.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Girl hit by car near primary school suffers head injuriesA young girl has been rushed to hospital after she was struck by a car near a Gold Coast school.
Read more »
Female protesters beaten by Taliban fighters during rare Kabul rallyShots fired into air and rifle butts used to attack dozens of women protesting outside Afghan education ministry
Read more »
Why Play School means so much to so many AustraliansFor 56 years, Play School has been there for Australians young and old, bringing fun, education and a sense of safety in uncertain times.
Read more »
Would-be teachers to earn while they learn under scheme to tackle shortageStudents would complete paid school internships as part of their degrees and career changers would be offered teaching apprenticeships under a plan being weighed by education ministers nationwide. adamlcarey teachershortage JasonClare teachingdegree
Read more »
Taliban cleric killed in Kabul by blast from explosives hidden in an artificial legA prominent Taliban cleric and supporter of women's education has been killed in an attack at a seminary in Kabul, according to officials and Taliban sources.
Read more »
9yo girl hit by car while walking to school on the Gold CoastThe girl has been taken to the Gold Coast University Hospital.
Read more »