Lack of female teachers, not Taliban, behind Afghan women illiteracy

The plight of Afghan women during the Taliban regime has been a topic of several discussions and international reportage, but now a new research has shown that it is a myth that no girls went to school during the tenure of the radical regime, and that all girls have returned to schools under the present dispensation.

Washington, Oct 30 : The plight of Afghan women during the Taliban regime has been a topic of several discussions and international reportage, but now a new research has shown that it is a myth that no girls went to school during the tenure of the radical regime, and that all girls have returned to schools under the present dispensation.

Researchers- Pia Karlsson and Amir Mansory- of the Institute of International Education of Stockholm University have concluded that the lack of female teachers and parents' dilemma in choosing between elementary and Islamic education are prime reasons behind lack of education among Afghan girls.

The study was carried out in two Afghan villages, and is based on school observations and interviews with parents, students, teachers, mullahs, elders and others.

The researchers say the villagers believed in the Islamic principle of 'farz', which implies that everyone has an obligation and a responsibility to acquire knowledge - be it boy or girl. This shatters the myth that radical religious belief is behind the lack of education among Afghan girls.

"Since the lack of female teachers is significant, particularly in rural areas where most people live, a conflict arises: A dilemma between the farz principle to get knowledge and the requirement of (non-existing) female teachers," the researchers say.

The study also highlights that girls are excluded from Islamic education above the elementary knowledge that all children get in a mosque school, which has not elicited much attention or reaction in the international arena.

However, there are hopes that reinterpretation of 'farz' is underway, may bring asolution to the girls' continuous education, says Mansory.

Initially, farz was only related to Islamic education but it is now valid for all kinds of education.

Another dilemma, which is still in its early stages, is the interplay between Islam and modernisation, Karlsson says, and adds, "Although globalisation as a word was not used, many expressed their worries about its consequences, like consumerism, secularisation and individualism, values that were considered to sharply contrast the highly esteemed Islamic ethics."

ANI