A new age is about to begin in Afghanistan. Its future looks bright now that the United Nations and President Karzai have agreed on the proposed end to the Afghan War. Though the threat to the education of Afghanistan's women isn't over yet.
Efforts remain unstoppable to anyone who opposes this movement, namely the Taliban. As recently as this past week, periodic attacks have been occurring to attempt to keep women and girls from being educated. Within the last two weeks, Afghan female students and teachers have been sent to local hospitals due to a mass poisoning of the water sources of schools in Northern Afghanistan.
This sort of protesting is not unheard of in Afghanistan. Since the Taliban lost control of the Afghan government in 2001, attacks on schools focused on educating women and girls have become more frequent. It wasn't until 2001 that women were allowed to resume their education since the governmental rule by the Taliban since 1996.
According to an article published by The Washington Post, Spina is city where the education of Afghan women and girls has almost completely been demised. Nearly two million girls there do not receive an education. Water poisoning and continuous threats have left this town with nothing more than underground schooling to be able to continue on with their education. But all hope isn't lost. More than 2.5 million women and girls are now attending schools throughout Afghanistan. When schools established by UNICEF or the United States are forceably closed by insurgents, smaller, more secretive schools would open. A school led by two literate brothers in Spina, Afghanistan is one of them. You can find them in living rooms, underground, or guest houses. They have begun hiding, just as if they were back under the control of the Taliban. Without enough textbooks or supplies for everyone. Some without electricity. Without desks and without a promise to always be safe. This are the issues the women and girls of Afghanistan have to face on a daily basis to continue their education. I can't help but applaud them for their strengths, as well as applaud anyone willing to help improve the conditions they have to live in to feed their hunger to be educated.
Speaking of which, Film Annex is taking one step further in helping the Afghanistan Educational System by building internet classrooms in Afghanistan as a part of the Afghan Development Initiative. Read more about it here. www.filmannex.com/webtv/afghandevelopment/blog_post/film-annex-update-on-building-schools-in-afghanistan/50190
Read more about it on the Afghan Development WebTv Channel.
A great article to read further on this topic: International Women's Day in Afghanistan
Keisha Douglas is an independent filmmaker who specializes in music videos. When she is not filming, she spends much of her time blogging and freelance writing. She is the voice behind Mito Vox, an entertainment & etc. blog. To learn more about her freelance services visit her website. View all her Film Annex posts on her WebTv Channel.
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