Afghanistan’s Logar province is one of the most conservative areas in the country. Even before the decision of the de-facto authorities to suspend girls’ access to beyond primary education, most families did not let their girls go to school. Most girls and women in this province are illiterate.
Today, over 1,000 women and young girls aged 15 to 45 are learning how to read, write and calculate for the first time in their lives through UNESCO’s Community-based Basic General Literacy Classes.
During UNESCO’s recent visit to two literacy classes, women and girls shared their motivations, challenges and inspirations for attending the classes.
The community-based classrooms are set in the homes of literacy teachers, who are trained and certified during a teacher training programme led by UNESCO in cooperation with local NGOs.
All of the learners are experiencing schooling for the first time in their lives.
Their books and other training materials are fully developed by UNESCO, in accordance with international standards and adapted to their cultural context.
Bi Bi, 32 years-old, shared her story which is common among her classmates: “In the past, I was not allowed to attend school by my father but now my husband allows me to join UNESCO’s classes and learn. I have nine children: Eight girls and one boy. I want my girls to go to school and I want to help them learn.”
Bi Bi is a home-based tailor and clothes maker, but she always needed someone to read orders and instructions for her. Now, with the knowledge gained from the literacy classes, she can work independently and even manage her income and expenses.
“Who knows the answer? Raise your hand!”
Today, learners of the literacy class can even solve difficult math questions by heart. Math appears to be the favourite subject for the learners, as it enables them to use mobile phones and keep track of earnings from their home-based small businesses related to agriculture, tailoring or food production.
Wagma is 18 years old. Despite responsibilities at home, she manages to come to class every day. “I finish my household work by 7 am, then I attend class until 9 am. After that, I return home and sew clothes. In the past, when people brought their clothes for sewing, I didn’t know how to do the measurements. Now, I am capable of taking measurement and noting them down properly,” shared Wagma.
The learners are able to join literacy classes also thanks to the work of UNESCO’s “community mobilizers” (on the left in the photo above), who are selected from each community to go door by door asking families to allow their illiterate female family members to come to community-based class. In absence of sufficient funding, it is often the case that only one female in each family can attend the class.
Many of the learners are mothers themselves with young children. Sometimes, during the class, their children wait for them outside of the classroom playing under the supervision of an older sibling so that their mothers can concentrate on learning.
With the support of Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and the Government of Japan to the Youth and Adult Literacy and Basic Education Programme, UNESCO is currently providing community-based Basic General Literacy classes, which are of a duration of nine months with literacy and numeracy curriculum equivalent to Grades 1 to 3 of general education in Afghanistan. Over 25,000 youth and adults (over 60% women and adolescent girls) in 20 provinces are benefiting from this programme. The number of beneficiaries is expected to increase to 40,000 by the end of 2023.
UNESCO believes in the transformative power of education for girls and women in Afghanistan and its fundamental impact on the future generation of Afghan people. Learning how to read and write not only means a better life for girls and women – it also entails a bright future for the society with an empowered population.
UNESCO dedicated International Day of Education 2023 to girls’ and women in Afghanistan. It continues to call for an immediate and non-negotiable access to education and return to school for all girls and women in the country.
- UNESCO’s work in Afghanistan
- UNESCO’s actions to support education in emergencies
© UNESCO/Navid Rahi
