Education International

ATROAfghan Teachers' Rights Observatory

Testimony

Anonymous, female, university professor

I currently live in Kabul.

Before the Taliban came to power, I was teaching in a school. Two months after they came to power, I could no longer teach.

In the field of education women are facing serious problems. I would like to address one of the main problems that I am currently witnessing, which is the problem of physical and psychological insecurity for female teachers and students.

Professors who want to continue their work cannot accept this risk - neither for themselves nor their families.

There are still professors who continue to teach in the current bad situation and serious problems plague them. Among them are the lack of livelihood and the lack of security from the Taliban government. So far, the Taliban government does not have a serious plan to solve the problems of teaching and educating women; they also cannot create a safe environment.

A teacher who leaves home every day to teach not only has to deal with her own fears and feelings of insecurity, but also must deal with her family’s fears and anxieties every day.

So, here’s the problem.

Can female teachers create a safe environment for their students with this fear and insecurity?

Can students learn with a good quality of education with this sense of insecurity transmitted from their teachers?

In my opinion, if this problem is not taken seriously by the Taliban government, it will cause a huge disaster in the field of teaching and educating women and girls in Afghanistan.

More Testimonies

Hakimi, a female teacher for 17 years in Kabul

One of the reasons why teachers are dissatisfied is the closure of schools for girls, because we know that half of the society is made up of women. I deplore that the Afghan society does not respect teachers

Sherin, female teacher for 7 years in a boys’ school in Herat

Female teachers like me now face the challenging situation where girls' schools have been closed, and female teachers have been relocated to distant areas. The increased pressure and the loss of privileges associated with my previous teaching career have left me very disillusioned.

Shahira, a female teacher for 3 years in a secondary school in Balkh

Teachers should have the right to join a professional association or education union and the union should have a legal right to negotiate on behalf of teachers on all professional matters, on professional autonomy and freedom.