KABUL (SW) – As the world marks Women’s Day, women and girls remain deprived of rights to study and work since almost 19 months now.
Maryam is an eighth grade student in one of Herat city public schools. She was the first grader in her class in eight years of school and she wished to study in her favorite field, which is medicine. Maryam told Salam Watandar that with the closing of the schools, all of her dreams were dashed and she I was left disappointed. “Being at home every day and reading repetitive books has tried me and put pressure on me. I am very depressed and sad and I get nervous easily because of this, my family has put me under treatment.”
Since two months, Maryam has been under treatment in one of Herat’s hospitals due to depression and nervous disorders.
Nilofar is a 10th grade student in one of the schools in Zaranj, the center of Nimroz province.
While looking at the books in the closet of her room, Nilofar said that in the past year and a half, she has not been able to stop her tears by staying at home and looking at the books and booklets.
“Believe that all of us girls are in an unknown fate, darkness and despair. What is the sin of Afghan girls that they cannot be educated and let to progress?”
Similarly, 18-year-old Mursal, another student in Farah who is disappointed due to the closure of the schools, said she was in the 11th grade of the school. “The closure of the schools made my family get me engaged. I want to study so that I can serve other women in the future, but on the one hand, my engagement and on the other hand, the closure of schools, has made me very disappointed and depressed.”
Mursal added that she tried to commit suicide once due to the closure of the school and her forced engagement.
Shakila is a student in one of the schools in Kandahar and who aspired to become a doctor. She said that the closure of schools has prevented her from achieving her dreams.
The girls are still desperately hoping for the reopening of schools.
At the same time, a number of family members of female students above the sixth grade say that the closing of schools for girls has caused an increase in psychological problems in the family.
Khadija is the mother of an 11th grade student in Ghor. She said that her daughter was the topper in her class for the past eleven years and she wanted to top the university entrance exam so that she could study and serve women in the field of dentistry.
“Since they closed schools for girls, my daughter has become very depressed, upset and heartbroken that the current government has not allowed her to achieve her dreams.”
She wants the authorities of the Islamic Emirate to reopen the schools in the coming spring so that her daughter can study and achieve her dreams.
Mohammad Halim, a resident of Herat, said that his daughter is studying in the 10th grade and has good ideas in the field of robotics. “My daughter always tried to be the elite student of her class and did a lot of good work in the robotics department, but the continued closure of schools has caused her to live with worry and she often cries and asks me and her brothers if she can go to school in the new academic year or not?”
Faizuddin, a resident of Kandahar, told Salam Watandar that getting educated is obligatory for every man and woman, and the government should provide education to girls so that they can be educated in the fields of their choice, especially health, which is the basic need of women.
Health experts believe that closing schools and banning women from work has had negative effects on the psyche of female students and female employees and has made them vulnerable.
Abdul Ahmad Nouri, a neurologist in Ghor, said that in this province alone, more than 80 percent of female students and working women are suffering from mental illnesses and this trend is spreading.
ENDS
