Education for girls in Afghanistan

The moment it was announced that the Taliban have taken over Afghanistan, the streets of Kabul were empty with not a soul in sight. Men, women and children hid away in their homes.

The first fear Afghan women had was the fear of their education getting banned, their dreams tarnished and the end to all their hopes and aspirations for their future. Most Afghans, women and men, with professional jobs, have not returned. Only some of the lucky ones managed to escape.

Watching the Taliban take over of Afghanistan for the past month, has been full of stories of families trying to make their way to the airport to escape to a better life waiting for them on the other side. Some managed to reach their goals but most, who are still desperate to leave, are left behind. Some even lost their lives, pleading, crying, screaming, starving for days as they waited to be noticed at the gates of Kabul airport. And the world watched on.

As soon as the US and UK troops left Afghanistan, a few days in, it’s now announced that girls have been banned from secondary school education until further notice. The boys are announced to be back to their school desks, leaving behind their sisters. In solidarity, many boys have refused to go to school.

Taliban has banned girls from secondary education in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, this brave young Afghan boys have joined a campaign: #WithoutMySisterIwillNotGoToSchool.

These are the people who're taking enormous risks for change. #بدون_خواهرم_مکتب_نمیرم pic.twitter.com/o6qocRXauk

— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) September 18, 2021

The Taliban are claiming that girls will only be allowed to go back to school once there is a system in place which will be formed by Afghanistan’s militant-led government.

Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid told Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine, “We are not against education of girls, but we are still working on mechanisms of how their school attendance can be possible.”

In recent days, Afghan women have held a number of protests in Kabul which were stopped by militants. The women demanded that they have similar rights to men and be given freedom. They want to be able to work and attend school to better their education and work in their chosen fields.

Afghan women from across the world have also joined forces to rule out the Taliban dress code of the all black burqa by publishing their photographs online, wearing colourful and vibrant Afghan traditional dresses using the hashtag #AfghanistanCulture on Twitter.

This is Afghan culture. I am wearing a traditional Afghan dress. #AfghanistanCulture pic.twitter.com/DrRzgyXPvm

— Dr. Bahar Jalali (@RoxanaBahar1) September 12, 2021

Shopping in Kabul a few years ago, these are the vibrant, beautiful traditional clothes in the stores made by and for#AfghanistanCulture #AfghanistanWomen #AfghanWoman #DoNotTouchMyClothes pic.twitter.com/EzfyZJDqB4

— Fatima Kakkar, MD,MPH (@DrFatimaKakkar) September 13, 2021

In an interview with the BBC, Haji Hekmat, who’s an influential local Taliban leader, was confronted with critics saying that the Taliban are killing the culture.

He disagreed and said, “Western influences have been here for the past 20 years… Control of Afghanistan has passed from one foreign hand to another for 40 years, we have lost our own traditions and values. We are bringing our culture back to life.”

The Afghan Traditional Jewellery

Afghan jewellery plays an important role in the way in which Afghan women accessorize their traditional clothes. Without the stunning chunky Afghan jewellery , the traditional dress (Gandi Afghani) will look bare and incomplete like Romeo without Juliet.

The Afghan jewellery is not just popular among Afghans for its beauty; it also has a captivating history that dates back to thousands of years and shadows the ancient routes that interlaced through Afghanistan.

As I grew up in the West, I have developed a love for the culture, colour and life that sparks out of Gandi Afghani and its jewellery . I have always been intrigued by the designs and colours used to create the traditional clothes and the jewellery and I’ve always wanted to know the history behind these stunning designs, so I have decided to explore and find out.

Afghan traditional clothes and jewellery are originated from the Kuchis in Afghanistan.  Kochis or Kuchis (from the Persian word: کوچ koch; meaning “migration”) are Afghan Pashtun nomads, primarily from the Ghilji tribal confederacy.

They used to migrate or wander on borders between Afghanistan and Pakistan. In Pakistan they used to move towards Indus Valley and in the west they used to move towards Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Some of the most distinguished Ghilji Kochi tribes include the Kharoti, Andar and Ahmadzai. Authentic Tribal jewellery takes not only a culturally idealized outward appearance, but also reflects a way of life that is steeped in socio-cultural tradition.

In the 21^st century, the Afghan Kuchi jewellery is frequently referred to as nomadic jewellery. Research reveals that countless challenges were faced by the Afghan traditional clothes and jewellery in its history. During the Soviet occupation period and the time of the Mujahedin and the Taliban, many personally owned pieces were sold.

The Afghan Kuchi jewellery is distinguished on the basis of whether the pieces are made of costly materials, imported pieces, or made of beads. The more expensive pieces of jewellery are generally created using precious and semiprecious stones worked in the metal and inlay settings by metal craftsmen in public workshops.

The more expensive the jewellery, then it has most likely derived from the Afghan environment, it will have precious stones carved in which would be found in mountainous or riverine areas. Those types are generally worn on special occasions, while the less costly ornaments made from imported materials are worn on an everyday occasion.

The most distinguished Kuchi jewellery pieces are those that are worn by young women for special occasions like their Nikka (Muslim wedding or engagement celebration), because jewellery made of precious and semiprecious material are generally worn on those days.

More simpler jewellery that is worn by Afghan women every day in Afghanistan are made from cotton-stung Mora (beads) and coins also natural products such as cloves, nuts, and clay that are easily found locally in Afghanistan.

Not only is the Afghan jewellery available in Afghanistan, they are now also sold worldwide, of course, for a much higher price than that in Afghanistan. I always wondered why that was.

I believe for Afghans to import Afghan jewellery from Afghanistan and sell it in the West or other parts of the world would be for business reasons. But why are non-Afghans so keen to purchase these products at such a high price?

Well, a look at the images below answers this question. Of course, it is because of the beautiful work done to these pieces, full of detail, colour and culture. But is it also because of what’s trending in the West?

As a young person living in the West, I have come to realise that in fact it is because Afghan jewelry  is now trending. I see people from all corners of the World in London, walking past me every morning and each day I do not fail to see a female wearing such jewellery that is, if not exactly the same, then similar to Afghan jewellery.

People are developing a love for the Afghan style. I see the Afghan clothes worn by top ranked models on catwalk shows. I sometimes get the feeling that the Afghan culture has really taken over the West by a storm.

Some people claim that it is not just the Afghan culture that those pieces, fashion shows, artists represent. But I genuinely believe it is from the routes of our very own Afghanistan.

Processed with VSCOcam with m5 preset

Afghan Female Artist

Afghanistan sees its first female artist, Shamsia Hassani’s, work in the streets of Kabul with just a spray can and hope to see a peaceful future. As well as representing art in Afghanistan, Shamsia Hassani is also a representative and a spokesperson for women’s rights in Kabul. She sees her art work in the city of Kabul as a way to ‘spray over the memories of War.’

The artist, Shamsia Hassani, was born in Iran to her Afghan parents. She is a street and digital artist who works in the country’s multifaceted and conflicted capital. She returned to Afghanistan in the year 2005 in order to pursue her education in Fine Art at Kabul University. She works to start yearly graffiti workshops through the country and to change the way society views women who refuse to stay silent and those who come out of their veils to stand up for their opinions.

The history of Afghanistan has seen many invasions that carried many cultures and beliefs, occupations and empires that so often emaciated the country. Upon the invasion of the Taliban in the year 1996-2001 most practices of art and cultural expression were banned. The War on art was inspired by the Quran as it prohibits the depiction of living things. Drawing or sculpting living things was believed to be an insult to God.

Paintings, books containing art work, TV sets and music were all destroyed by the Taliban and were amongst the primary actions of elimination.  At the beginning of the Taliban rule and rise of power, in the year 1996, the Afghan National Museum was burned down and destroyed and used to keep the insurgents warm.

As well as the ban of art, social and traditional expressions such as kite flying and owning pet birds were also prohibited. Women were banned from make-up and high heels. A new dress code was introduced for women, to cover as much as possible, from head to toe. If any of the rules were disobeyed, women were beaten in public to scare others from doing the same.

The future of art in Afghanistan is not certain as the shadow of War is still lurking in the streets of Afghanistan. Nevertheless, there have been many developments to reinstitute art studios and traditional clay sculpting schools in order to reopen the doors that were once closed to the people of Afghanistan and grow upon its lost, gone and bottled-up traditional teachings and cultural legacy.

Shamsia Hassani talks about art 

Afghanistan in old photographs

ISIS heads towards Afghanistan

As ISIS enters Afghanistan, the people and its government face new challenges and threats to an already frail situation.

ISIS

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) took over the al-Qaeda organisation, founded by Osama Bin Laden. Abu Bakr al-Baghdad who is also known as Abu Dua is the ISIS leader and has become the World’s most powerful jihadi leader.

ISIS seized control of Mosul, which is Iraq’s second-largest city. Their power base is in Raqqa which is in eastern Syria. According to energy expert Luay al-Khateeb, who spoke to CNN, ISIS are in control of more than half of Syria’s oil assets as well as a number of oil fields in Iraq.  Al-Khateeb also explained that the oil is finding its way to the black market and could be making ISIS up to $3 million each day. The group has established to be more ruthless and more active at controlling the land it has held.

ISIS is under tight directions by top leaders to kill Shia Muslims and Christians whenever possible. The exact size of ISIS is unclear, people have travelled from around the World to join ISIS and fight in Syria and Iraq. Officials suggest that more than 11,000 people have joined and some have returned home. Research shows that, countries with bigger Muslim populations send the largest number of fighters.

ISIS in Afghanistan

It has been 15 years of the US invasion, which lead to the ousting of the Taliban in Afghanistan, but Afghanistan is still in a fragile state. It remains afflicted by Taliban attacks, long-lasting levels of corruption, political instability, and the economic uncertainty.

ISIS is spreading drastically from its main location to other countries. Recently the group found its way into the cities of Afghanistan. This could lead to a new wave of political and religious violence.

Afghanistan has a history of political violence in the name of Islam and a large number of religious extremist groups. In its decade-and-a-half long revolution, the Taliban failed to capture and keep major cities and district centres. In promising to work with ISIS, the Taliban aimed to get more supporters help, earn a bigger name and receive more funds.  The rise of ISIS has encouraged extremists in Afghanistan to review and transmit their strategies in the direction of an imposing display of force.

But according to recent reports, the Taliban and ISIS have declared jihad against one another due to the fact that ISIS refused to work under the same flag.  The Taliban’s deputy, Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor addressed a letter to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdad, and said, “Jihad (Holy war) against the Americans and their allies must be conducted under one leadership.”

According to The Daily Beast, there are discussions between the Taliban and Iran on how to deal with the extremist group ISIS, as they are known.

Mullah Khan Muhammad Noorzai, an ex-Taliban spoke to The Daily Beast and said that the ISIS camp was attacked by the Taliban which lead to the death of innocent followers. In a phone interview, he said, “Most of those killed were our friends and colleagues.” Despite an agreement that the Taliban and ISIS would not attack each other, Taliban broke the agreement and attacked ISIS.

Noorzai said, “A Muslim won’t break a commitment, the Taliban are not true Muslims, and not mujahedeen (holy warriors) either. Now our jihad against the ignorant so-called Taliban will go on forever.”

According to Noorzai, the Taliban are fighting in the name of Islam but are funded by Iranians and United States. He said, “The Taliban shadow governor for Farah, through the mediation of Mullah Baz Muhammad, a local elder, swore an oath by Allah and the Quran that they would not attack ISIS, but they did.” He added that Iran played a key role in this.

ISIS attacks on Afghanistan

The Taliban and ISIS announced War on one another in April after the Taliban labelled ISIS self-declared caliphate and unlawful.

The first major ISIS attack was a suicide bombing in Afghanistan that killed at least 35 people dead and 100 people were wounded. The bombing happened outside of a bank branch in the Jalalabad city which is Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province.

A spokesperson for a provincial governor, Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, described the attack and claimed that a suicide bomber on a motorcycle detonated a vest rigged with explosives in front of the state-run New Kabul Bank. Borhan Osman, who is an analyst with Afghanistan Analysts Network, tracked the emergence of ISIS in Afghanistan, “[Isis] has not built a solid, actual political presence in Afghanistan so far,” Osman said, “but if the Taliban quasi-monopoly is broken, that will help [it] to build networks and their brand.”

The president of Afghanistan, Ashraf Ghani said, “Who claimed responsibility for the horrific attack in Nangrahar today? The Taliban did not claim responsibility for the attack.” during his visit to northeastern province of Badakhshan

There have been several attacks since ISIS have entered Afghanistan. Most recently, at least 10 Taliban members were beheaded by ISIS. The attack happened in the eastern province of Nangrahar after ISIS jihadis stopped Taliban fighters from fleeing a gun battle with the government troops.

Ashraf Ghani talking about ISIS 

The Buddha Statues have returned

The Buddha statues that were destroyed by the Taliban in Afghanistan have returned in the form of 3-D light projections.

The Taliban leader, Mullah Omar stated, in March 2001, that the statues were false idols.  He stated that, “These idols have been gods of the infidels.” As an act of religious terror, the Taliban forces destroyed the Buddha statues, with the help of local workers, by blowing the statues down.

Both the statues were carved beautifully in cliffs and lay in rubble for more than a decade around 1,500 years ago. Statues are based in Bamiyan Valley which is a World Heritage Site.

The idea of the projections came from documentarians, Jason Yu and Liyan Hu. They were given permission to debut their work by UNESCO and the Afghan government.

Technology has increased in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban. TV’s are now working, electricy is available throughout the day and computers are used more than ever before. But the chance to see the Buddhas once again, via a projection, is by far one of the best. This allowed Afghans to see the giant Buddhas once again and to admire the beauty of the Buddhas again.

One of the men who participated in the attack stated that, “First they fired at the Buddhas with tanks and artillery shells. But when that was ineffective, they planted explosives to try to destroy them.” He also added, when the statues were taken down, the Taliban celebrated by dancing and slaughtered nine cows as sacrifice.

The 3-D light projections filled the cutouts in the mountains. According to The Atlantic, over 150 people watched the display.

This photo taken on June 7, 2015 shows the projected image of a Buddha statue in Bamiyan that had been destroyed by the Taliban in 2001. The initiative to visually restore the destroyed antiquities was dreamt up by Chinese couple Zhang Xinyu and Liang Hong, who are travelling through countries on the historic Silk Road route. AFP PHOTO / Kamran Shafayee (Photo credit should read KAMRAN SHAFAYEE/AFP/Getty Images)

Is it time to change school uniform for girls in Afghanistan ?

(Afghan school girls in Uniform – 2014)

School girls in Afghanistan have complained about the colour of their school uniforms. They are asking the government and schools to change the typical, black dress and white scarf to a colour that does not absorb the heat and is less depressing.

During the 1970’s, women and girls in Afghanistan attired themselves in Western clothing. This meant mini-skirts, no headscarves and stunning hair styles. Girls who attended schools and universities dressed in modern clothing including high heels, all of which was banned during the rule of the Taliban.

(Afghan school girls- 1970)

After many years of no education for girls, Afghanistan now has thousands of girls attending schools. Education in Afghanistan includes K-12 and higher education. Currently Afghanistan is in the process of rebuilding. Despite the challenges faced by Afghans daily, the country is still moving forward and working towards a brighter and a better tomorrow.

The numbers of schools are increasing fast in Afghanistan. Since the fall of the Taliban in the year 2001, By 2006, more than 4 million public schools such as; Habibia High School, one of the oldest schools in Afghanistan, Amani High School and Lycee Esteqlal have been opened.

Private schools in Afghanistan have uniform like schools in England, including blazers, jeans, skirts, shirts and ties for both girls and boys as part of uniform. But for public schools it is different. It is required of all the girls to wear a black, long, shapeless dress and a white head scarf.

It has been reported that some girls have fainted in classes because of the heat absorbed by their uniforms. Many have complained that not only are the uniforms head absorbing but that they are also hideous.

A 16-year-old girl, Marjan says her black school uniform makes the heat of the Kabul summer unbearable. She said, “The education minister is sitting in an air conditioned office. What does he know about the conditions we’re in, or how hot these black clothes get?”

A seventh-grade pupil from the Ariana High School said. “Believe me, we see girls fainting every day in the summer. The sole reason is that black makes your body temperature rise uncontrollably.”

The colours black and light green were traditionally the main options for schoolgirls, but now the former is usually required. The choice to have black as uniform also seems to be influenced by perceptions of modesty.

Abdol Monir Negah, who is the education ministry’s academic council, said, “First, schoolgirls must be distinguishable from others. Secondly, black conceals the beauty and features of girls and women from the eyes of men. They don’t attract attention.”

School teachers have agreed to the change in uniforms. Shirin, who has been a teacher for 12 years and works for Alem Faizzada High School, said blue or grey would make a far better choice. She said, “I was a pupil myself once. I’ve been through the same experience. I know how badly wearing black affects the pupils both physically and psychologically.”

Farm worker – 1980’s

Fashion Model – Early 70’s

Womens Rally 1980

Fashion Designer in Kabul – 1969 or 1970

A university Home Economics class demonstration -1984

Girls Guides – 70’s

A class meeting for women- 1980

Afghan females and a career in journalism

Women make up 1,500 of the Afghanistan’s 10,000 journalists. Threatened by the Taliban, risk of death, yet still they choose to work towards a career in journalism.

It is now clear to the world that life for women in Afghanistan was never easy, and the question that remains is, if it will ever be easy?

We can, without a doubt, say that females in Afghanistan dream of a career because after all, the women there are like any other woman in the world, with a dream. Afghanistan has seen a great interest of women working towards rebuilding the country.

There are now women politicians, drivers, teachers, doctors, singers, celebrities and businesswomen in Afghanistan. A huge improvement compared to the previous, dark, years of war.

Afghan Women are eager to take part in making Afghanistan a better place purely because of their passion and dreams to live a better life, and make the future brighter for their children and the future generations to come.

From my visits to Afghanistan, I have seen girls and boys going to school with a great interest in education. I recall waking up one morning and looking out of the window in my room, seeing children dressed in uniform heading towards school, Girls wearing white scarves and black dresses and the boys wearing blazers, shirts and trousers with polished shoes, cheerfully heading to school.

However, with the withdrawal of the troops and reduced aid to Afghanistan there is a very high risk of these gains and the achievements of Afghan women and men, which are already very fragile, to be reversed back as no one knows what the future holds for Afghanistan.

Fatimah, a young Afghan girl, aged 21, whom I met in Afghanistan, Jalalabad province, said that the Taliban are not the only reason that stops men and women from pursuing a career in journalism, but it is the lack of security in the country, and the unorganised policies in the countries laws.

She said, “I want a career in journalism, but the lack of security and the lack of protection for journalists in Afghanistan stops me. My family, especially my father is against my decision, he is not permitting me to work towards the career in journalism because he fears losing me.”

Palwasha Tokhi

On September 16^th, young female journalist, known as Palwasha Tokhi, who worked for Bayan, a local radio in northern Balkh province, was killed inside her home.

Palwasha Tokhi studied and completed her Masters degree in Thailand, two months before she was killed.

She was taken to the Mazar-e-Sharif hospital after being stabbed by unknown men. Mohammad Khalil Tokhi, her father, said the men broke into their home when he was not there, stabbed Palwasha and then fled. Tokhi was the second radio journalist killed in Mazar-e-Sharif.

There were claims that Palwasha had been killed because she worked for the German military and it was thought she had links with them.

Tokhi’s former colleague said, “The insurgents tell people that those who work for the West are promoting Christianity in Afghanistan and are against Islam.”

Her murder is still a mystery and no one has found her killers. This raises the question, if the Afghan police/government are trying hard enough to bring those who commit crimes, such as killings of journalist, to justice.

Palwasha Tokhi, stabbed to death in Mazar #Afghwomen will remember you Just like we remember Sanga, Fawzia, Nadia… pic.twitter.com/dWLQrT0fFZ

— Zarghuna Kargar (@DearZari) September 18, 2014

http://www.dw.de/natos-afghan-employees-fear-for-their-lives/a-17933478

http://www.ifj.org/nc/news-single-view/backpid/1/article/female-journalist-brutally-murdered-in-afghanistan/

http://www.rawa.org/temp/runews/2013/02/15/afghanistan-the-most-dangerous-country-for-journalists-cpj.html

https://fascinatingmystery.wordpress.com/2014/10/24/saint-of-the-week-palwasha-tokhi/