On Political and Cultural Reasons for Girls' Education Issues in Afghanistan


Creative Commons License

Bayar E.

6th INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION AND INNOVATIVE SCIENCES CONGRESS, Burdur, Türkiye, 24 - 25 Kasım 2022, ss.334-335

  • Yayın Türü: Bildiri / Özet Bildiri
  • Basıldığı Şehir: Burdur
  • Basıldığı Ülke: Türkiye
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.334-335
  • Van Yüzüncü Yıl Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Afghanistan, which started to take serious steps towards modernization in the second half of the 19th century, was far from the intended point because the process was frequently interrupted and there were reversals after some breaks. Despite gaining its independence before many other countries and having a nationalist and modernist leader like Emanullah Khan, Afghanistan has not been able to build a modern state. There are many internal and external reasons why the modern Afghanistan project, which has a respected position in the international community, cannot go beyond an example of a failed state today. This study will focus on the field of education rather than all the problem areas in Afghanistan. Afghanistan, which is far behind the "Quality Education" goal number 4 in the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, is one of the countries with the lowest literacy rate in the world. In Afghanistan, in addition to the insufficient service in the field of education, gender discrimination also emerges as an important problem. In the 20-year period following the overthrow of the Taliban regime in 2001, the new Afghan governments, which provided the support of the international public, made a notable breakthrough in the field of education. However, many factors such as the gradual development of social changes, difficulties in changing the socio-economic structure, the adoption of the reforms taking time, economic inadequacies, and security problems caused the developments in the field of education to be limited. In order to maintain the improvement trend achieved, the regime and the country had to have a stable structure in Afghanistan. However, the takeover of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan as of August 2021 has revealed the threat of failure of reforms and the fear of losing "gains". Many international actors, especially European countries, have seriously criticized the policy of the Taliban regime that especially girls should not be educated after the 6th grade. This problem went as far as threats and limitations over the aid given to Afghanistan in order for the current government to take a step towards girls' continuing education. For many European countries, one of the main obstacles to the recognition of the Taliban regime has been the issue of girls' education. Although the issue of girls' education may seem like a simple matter to a Western mind, it is becoming a sensitive issue in Afghanistan. Because this issue can easily be associated with concepts such as honor, honor and dignity, with the influence of cultural codes. This study will focus on education problems in Afghanistan in general and will focus on the education of girls in particular. The decisive role of the cultural influence and tribal traditions underlying the attitude of the Taliban regime on this issue will be emphasized.

 

Keywords: Afghanistan, Girls' Education, Quality Education Goal, Sustainable Development Goals, Taliban