1. Education In Afghanistan for girls Atticus Tay 3O2

2. Background Information During the Taliban regime (1996-2001), female education was banned All females were not educated, from primary education to tertiary education Girls schools were closed and females were not allowed to teach However, many were secretly educated by their parents or in underground schools In 1998, a UNICEF report showed that 9 out of 10 Afghan girls and almost 2 out of 3 Afghan boys failed to be enrolled at school Girls were denied the rights of education Anyone caught breaking these rules would be shot by the Taliban

3. Today After the fall of the Taliban, women started gaining political rights –Women appointed prominent government positions However, since majority of the women were illiterate, they were not involved in the talks for women's rights –The government reduced women's rights whenever it deems fit Although the law only applies to a small percentage of the women in Afghanistan, it shows that women's rights can easily be taken away from women if they are uneducated and isolated. Despite the gender discrimination, education for girls has generally improved –More than 5 million children are enrolled in schools, and among them, 35% are girls

4. However... An estimated 11 million Afghans are illiterate Majority of the teachers have low education qualifications

5. How do girls in Afghanistan feel? “Educating women and girls and women’s empowerment in our community is my dream,” ~Behesta, a 20 year old Afghan girl

6. Marginalisations Sharia law states that a women's testimony is only half that of a man's Women considered as less important than men In February 2009, the President signed a law which affects the key right of Afghan Shi'a women: –Denies women to the right to leave their homes except for "legitimate" purposes –Forbids women from getting educated or working without husband's permission

7. Impacts on the country

8. Political Impacts Gender Inequality Economy will not improve much as women are not allowed to work Immolation

9. Social Impacts Gender Inequality Women are physically abused by others

10. Sources http://www.schoolisopen.org/sio/index.php?optio n=com_content&view=article&id=52&Itemid=60 http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/people/featur es/ihavearightto/four_b/casestudy_art26.shtml http://www.trustineducation.org/resources/life- as-an-afghan-woman/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Afghan istan