GHAZNI CITY (SW) – The closure of secondary schools for girls has casted a negative shadow on the minds of younger students in Ghazni province.
A number of female students in Ghazni, who are currently in lower than sixth grade, told Salam Watandar that the closure of girls’ schools had taken away their motivation and interest in continuing their education.
Halima is a fifth-grade student at a Ghazni school. She says that these days she does not like coming to school and studying and is worried about her future. She added: “I do not like the schools that are closed from the seventh to the twelfth grade. I am talking about how we will become doctors after the sixth grade that we studied.”
The closure of schools to female students in the sixth grade has disappointed Halima and most of all her classmates. “I am very disappointed,” she added. “If the schools reopen, I will be very happy, and if they do not, I will be just as disappointed.”
Farzana is another student who says she wants to become a doctor in the future, but is worried that the schools will not reopen soon. “I do not understand whether the schools reopen until the twelfth grade or not. If the schools do not restart, I will be very disappointed.”
These students call on the authorities of the Islamic Emirate to open the gates of the schools to all female students.
Meanwhile, a number of female teachers in Ghazni schools say that the recent decision by the government of the Islamic Emirate has deeply disturbed the female students and that the students have lost their usual motivation to continue their education.
Shakiba Mohammadi, a female teacher in Ghazni, said: “The students are not motivated, not interested. They come and attend classes, but have no enthusiasm that they had in the past”.
Experts believe that educating girls in a society is more important than educating boys. According to them, for the positive change of generations in a society, girls and mothers need to be encouraged to get education.
Zahra Musazada, a civil activist in Ghazni, said: “If we want to change and improve generations in the society, we need to keep women on the way of education and open the way to education for them. Let us prepare the ground for them so that they can change a whole generation in this way.”
The closure of schools to female students above the sixth grade has met with many national and international reactions. The people of Afghanistan and various national and international institutions are now waiting to see the review of the decision by the Ministry of Education of the Islamic Emirate to reopen schools for all Afghan girls.
ENDS
