Global initiative could help revitalize Afghan women’s education

In today’s knowledge-based economy, Afghanistan needs educated citizens with technical skills for economic and social progress. This is not possible if almost half of the country’s population is kept away from education and deprived of basic rights. It is imperative that the Taliban administration formulate a long-term sustainable plan to ensure the progress of Afghan women and others.

Although the situation has been dire for much of Afghanistan, girls’ education was never universally taboo. Women began graduating from Kabul University in the early 1960s. In later decades, women were appointed by the government as technicians, administrators, and even as judges in Islamic courts. However, under the earlier Taliban regime, the rights of Afghan women were severely curtailed and were not allowed to work or receive education. After the overthrow of the Taliban regime, the number of girls in primary schools increased from almost zero to 2.5 million, and the female literacy rate nearly doubled to 30% between 2011 and 2018 (UNESCO, 2021). That progress is threatened by the return of the Taliban to power in Kabul.

The Taliban are turning their backs on women’s rights, while their policies turn into a nightmare for Afghan women. More recently, the Taliban’s Ministry of Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Evil restricted the mobility of women unless followed by a male relative. This stance of stubborn Taliban members has denied women access to public places and public life, not just education. But it is important to recognize that the Taliban is not a homogeneous group and has members with different policy priorities. For example, in historically progressive areas such as Mazar-i-Sharif and Kunduz, local Taliban leaders have been persuaded to reopen schools for girls. The international community needs to acknowledge this and deal with the Taliban in a subtle way, so that less radical elements can dominate the Afghan administration.

It is important that the welfare of Afghan women does not become a victim of Afghan conflicts. The society has progressed at its own pace on women education and empowerment. In India, only women’s colleges were established around 1947 as part of a movement aimed at asserting the right to education for women. These institutions served two purposes. One, they sought to foster a community in which women had more opportunities to engage in various endeavors, and second, the women-only set-up appealed to conservative families, who may have co-opted their daughters to learn. They were not allowed to go to the education centres. Fast forward to today, and one finds that all women colleges like Lady Shri Ram College and Miranda House are equal or even better than their co-educational counterparts. Church affiliated convent schools are also among the best in India. Having taught at Lady Shri Ram College, the authors have seen the potential of an all-women institution to transform youth into confident women. Even in Muslim-majority countries, women’s universities have emerged as leaders in education. These include Lahore Women’s University in Pakistan, Asian Women’s University in Bangladesh and Princess Noura bint Abdulrahman University in Saudi Arabia.

The Taliban administration is eager to gain global recognition and aid, but hardline members of the Taliban are certain to block any offers of co-education. As an alternative, the world community can advocate the establishment of all-women’s schools and colleges affiliated with the mosque throughout the country. These can be managed entirely by women and can be designed for education in modern subjects (besides religious texts). No one knows how long the current Taliban regime will continue, and Afghan women cannot afford to lose access to education during these years. In such a situation, the above idea can be effective in bringing girls and women back to schools and colleges. There are four major benefits of this proposal.

First, such an education system is most likely to survive a change in governance, minimizing learning disruptions for women. Second, by being in an all-female environment, students and staff can escape the Taliban’s rigid dress code, at least in the teaching-learning realm. Third, educated Afghan women will have the option of employment in all these women’s institutions. Fourth, seeing women in leadership positions in institutions run by women would instill confidence in the younger generation of schoolgirls. Being role models in safe places is especially important for Afghan girls at this time. Education is the most powerful tool for Sotuda and millions of others like him to realize his dream of a better future. Time is running out and the global community should not let them down.

Parul Gupta and Rajeev Parashar are assistant professors of economics at the Indian School of Business and Finance and research scholars at Shiv Nadar University, respectively.