Bria McDaniel Blog 10 Afghan woman returns to give country's girls a lesson in education

Summary

This year, a courageous woman named Razia Jan will hand out diplomas to the first students from the Zabuli school in Afghanistan. All of these students will be female. Afghanistan has not always been a country that did not accept the education of young girls. Before the Taliban, Afghanistan celebrated women as an instrumental part in the community.  During the Taliban’s reign, education was stripped from these women. Razia has chosen to go back home and build a school with 450 girls. Razia is grateful to America for removing the Taliban from government so that a school like this could be possible in today’s world. They still do face obstacles from the community. Not everyone has readjusted their view of women completely, so there is reluctance by parents and guardians when it comes to sending their daughters to school. In order to ease many fathers’ agitation with sending their daughter to school, one of the first things these girls learn how to do is right their father’s name. Razia is making leaps and bounds in this Afghanistan education while dealing with the sensitive topic of the education of Afghan girls. Not everyone is open to the idea of the education of girls, so Razia also has to take safety measures to ensure the protection of these girls. This includes having security and doing simple, but essential things like testing the water to make sure it has been poisoned. Today, the school is thriving with the support of local leaders and the local village.

Analysis

This progress in Afghanistan is a testament to how one individual could inspire and lead great change in a community. It is funny to see that our perception of the middle East is. Many think that it has always been this way and that it is traditional part of that region to suppress girls. This is not the case. Razia is getting back to tradition values which includes valuing women. One thing that Afghanistan needs is full support of a strong, steady and incorruptible government in order to make this the Afghan norm.

http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-04-23/afghan-woman-returns-give-countrys-girls-lesson-education