Ending Obama's War: Responsible Military Withdrawal From Afghanistan by David Cortright

Author:David Cortright [Cortright, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Political Science, General
ISBN: 9781317260455
Google: YjAeCwAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 28132803
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2011-05-01T00:00:00+00:00

Education and Literacy

Afghanistan is one of the least educated countries in the world. According to the Human Development Index it is ranked 181 out of 182 countries in literacy, trailed only by Niger.58 The literacy rate for women is especially low. According to the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the literacy rate for women is 16 percent, compared to 31 percent for men.59 The World Bank estimates female literacy at 21 percent.60

Formal literacy programs did not begin in Afghanistan until 1969. By the 1990s literacy rates began to climb toward 30 percent for men, but women lagged far behind at only 7 percent. During the period of Taliban rule, women and girls were not permitted to attend schools—although informal teaching continued in secret, and some mullahs used mosques as classrooms for girls.61 After 2001, literacy classes resumed, sponsored by the Afghan government, international organizations, and Afghan nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Most of these programs have been concentrated in cities and towns, with less educational availability in rural provinces.

A lack of security has negatively affected access to education in many parts of the country, retarding progress toward higher literacy rates. The 2009 study “Knowledge on Fire,” sponsored by CARE, showed that southeastern Pashtun majority areas with high rates of violence have lower literacy rates for men and women, while western and northern regions fare better. In the eastern province of Khost near the Pakistan border, the literacy rate for females is just 7 percent, compared to 44 percent for men. In Logar province near Kabul, literacy for women is 9 percent, compared to 21 percent for men. In the largely Tajik province of Balk in the north, literacy for women is 21 percent, and it’s 53 percent for men. Multiple factors account for the wide variation in literacy rates among provinces and regions. The ethnic composition and cultural traditions of the population, geographical location, and the security situation all influence rates of literacy and access to education.

Since 2001 improving access to primary school has been a major priority of international donors and the Afghan government. Evidence shows that educating girls produces myriad private and public benefits: they marry later and have fewer and healthier babies and lower maternal mortality rates. Girls’ education also boosts women’s participation in the labor force, which is greatly needed in Afghanistan. Significant improvements have been registered in enrollment numbers, the training of teachers and the rehabilitation and construction of school buildings. According to recent UNESCO data:

• There are 7.3 million students enrolled in primary and secondary schools—37 percent female—compared to fewer than 900,000 students (all male) in 2002.

• There are 12,000 schools in Afghanistan, 4,480 of them established since 2002.

• Teacher numbers grew from 20,700 (all men) in 2002 to 158,000 in 2008—28.8 percent female.

• More than 61 million textbooks for primary and secondary schools are being distributed.

• Thousands of students are enrolled in community-based schools, which provide education to children in areas without government school facilities.62

• There are 62,000 Afghans enrolled in universities.63

While primary education

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