By Malalai Ahmadi (30 December 2020)
What is the root cause of the never-ending internal conflict in Afghanistan and what can the government do to address this problem?
Welfare and access to quality education are inextricably linked. The overall literacy rate in Afghanistan is low in comparison with other countries and there is a large gender gap in the literacy rate between men and women. Without an aggressive investment, guaranteed access to quality education for all, and the introduction of a strong welfare system for those in need, Afghanistan will continue to fall victim to extremists.
In Afghanistan, around 3.7 million children are out of the school of which 60% are girls (UNICEF, n.d.). The literacy rate in Afghanistan is amongst the lowest in the world. UNESCO reports that the literacy rate in Afghanistan was 43% in 2018, with the men’s literacy rate at 55.48% and that of women at 29.81% (UNESCO, 2015). The decades-long conflict in Afghanistan has devastated the country’s education system. For most children, especially girls in the rural and Taliban stronghold areas of the country, access to basic education beyond the sixth grade remains a distant dream to date. There is a serious need to educate every child in Afghanistan to enable them to become responsible citizens, to better shape the society, and to further the economic growth of the country.
Illiteracy, combined with poverty, is the main cause of most evils in society. In the rural and high poverty areas of Afghanistan, most children are deprived of basic education and live below the poverty line. As a result, these children often end up joining or being recruited by the Taliban, fighting the government, and killing their own people. Unless the government urgently addresses youth poverty and access to education, the youth of Afghanistan will continue to fall victim to the Taliban and be used against the government to further their
agenda. Although some join the Taliban voluntarily, the combination of being young in age, illiteracy, and living in poverty creates the perfect opportunity for extremists to prey on the young people who are easily swayed and manipulated. In the absence of education, these young people cannot think independently, analyze the information presented to them critically, and make independent decisions. To eradicate this problem, the government must take radical action by providing a strong education and welfare system to every child in every corner of the country.
As a result of the lack of access to education, young people often resort to joining the Taliban in rural and poor areas of the country, because they look for ways to escape the harsh reality of poverty and boredom, making them the perfect prey for extremists. The best protection against internal conflict and extremists of any sort is a society that is educated, well cared for, and alert to danger. The Afghan government must invest in these youths so then they become the leaders of tomorrow, so then they challenge and critically evaluate any information presented to them; and more importantly, so then they become responsible and valued members of society.
Furthermore, due to poverty and a severe lack of education, health, and social care, children are often forced to work on the streets to provide for their families. This is not only happening in the rural and poor areas but also in the heart of the country, in Kabul. The government must address youth poverty and access to education to protect the country’s future. This can only be achieved through the introduction of an effective welfare system and guaranteed access to quality education for all. Education is fundamental for long-term sustainable personal development and economic growth. Given the high rate of poverty in Afghanistan, there is a serious need for a strong welfare system because an effective ‘welfare system is proven to be an important catalyst for economic prosperity. It also plays an integral role in reducing socio-economic inequalities and protecting people from hardship such as unemployment and ill health’ (Trevitt V, 2009).
Unfortunately, the Afghan government has failed to address youth poverty and access to education effectively. To explain this, I will use the analogy of a tree. The government is heavily focused on issues such as corruption and elitism, which is like tending to the leaves
and fruits at the top while forgetting about the roots, which are the most fundamental part of a tree. In this case, the roots are young people. Unless the roots of the tree are healthy and looked after, investing in the leaves at the top will prove fruitless in the long run. To have a long-lasting fruitful tree, one must take good care of the roots first. It is the duty of the government to provide quality education, equal opportunities, security, and hope for the future to every single child in the country so then they become valuable and active citizens of tomorrow.
Access to education and a child’s socioeconomic background are intertwined. If a child is from a poor background, they are likely to be in the poor and rural areas of the country. Children from poor backgrounds either have no access to education or are unable to attend school. Instead, they have to work to provide for their families. The decades-long conflict that began in 1978 in Afghanistan devastated the general population.
According to the Asian Development Bank, a massive 54.5% of the population lives below the national poverty line in Afghanistan (Asian Development Bank, 2020, ‘Poverty Data: Afghanistan’). As a result, young children end up on the streets to put food on the table. This creates a never-ending vicious cycle whereby generation after generation spends their lives on the streets, either begging or taking on low skilled jobs that barely provide for their basic human needs. To tackle child poverty, the government must take on the responsibility to promote the economic and social well-being of these children by introducing a strong welfare system. These young people are the future of the country. Unless the government invests in them, an end to the long internal turmoil will remain a distant dream, and Afghanistan will remain seriously exposed to extremists and internal conflicts.
It is the basic right of every child to have access to education and it is the responsibility of the government to provide it. Given the low literacy rate in Afghanistan, educating children in every corner of the country is not only morally imperative but an economic necessity for the advancement of the country. While the Education Law of 2008 mandates nine years of compulsory education in Afghanistan, the reality is that most children are deprived of these nine years due to poverty and a lack of access to a school. This is evident from the startling statistics shown above and as seen on the streets of Kabul where young children can be
observed begging to provide for their families.
UNICEF reports that, the main obstacles to education in Afghanistan are the shortage of schools and insufficient transportation where a long walk to school in an unsafe environment means that fewer children, especially girls, go to school. The government must invest in building more schools across the country so then every child can attend a school within their local neighborhood without the need for a long and unsafe walk.
According to the Malala Fund, Afghan girls only spend an average of 5.6 years in school because early marriage prevents them from completing their education (Malala Fund, Afghanistan). Family is the first agent of socialization. Today’s girls are the mothers of tomorrow and mothers are the foundation of society because they raise the future generation of a country. Approximately 50% of the total population in Afghanistan are women. Depriving 50% of the population of education means that these women are unable to contribute towards the growth of the country and are effectively wasting 50% of the country’s resources and talent, which is a sad loss. ‘When girls are educated, their countries become stronger and more prosperous,’ said Michelle Obama, the former first lady of the USA. It is fundamental for the government to provide guaranteed access to quality education to girls in every corner of the country so then they can be better parents and citizens and promote the economic and social development of the country.
Afghanistan is amongst the poorest countries in the world. In the words of President Ashraf Ghani, “Afghanistan is an extremely poor country awash with money” (@ashrafghani, 2015). But as long as the government resources are fairly and equally distributed, the country will undoubtedly cope with supporting the most vulnerable in society. David Cameron, the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, described Afghanistan as a ‘fantastically corrupt country’ (BBC, 2016). To ensure fair and equal distribution of public funding, the government must eliminate corruption at all levels. To utilise the available resources efficiently, the government must also ensure that competent and qualified individuals are placed in relevant posts based on merits. This way, the impact of poverty on education and welfare will be reduced substantially and the government will be able to drive literacy rate up with the available resources.
Furthermore, to ease the burden on the already stretched resources, the government could potentially introduce a platform whereby volunteers in and outside the country can help sponsor a child’s education and deliver basic educational classes including online classes. These classes can either be pre-recorded or live in various subjects such as natural, social sciences and languages. This will increase access to education and could prove highly useful, especially for girls in rural areas where there are no female teachers due to lack of security or where parents are unable to invest in their daughter’s education due to poverty. To ensure the quality of education and safety of the children, the government can oversee the process of who can volunteer and what materials they can teach.
It is ‘possible to make quality improvements in education for children even in the most difficult and conflict-affected environments’ (GSDRC, 2015). In high risk areas where schools, teachers and students are targeted by the extremists, the government can utilise technology and the support of local communities to deliver education. With access to technology, children in high risk areas can be schooled online in any part of the country. Given the cultural and the religious fabric of the Afghan society, to help the local communities to see the benefits of education, the government must invest in and gain the communities support for education. This is because, ‘shared accountability for learning and support for the resilience strategies of students, teachers, and families are important features for supporting education provision in adversity’ (GSDRC, 2015). The introduction of a welfare system will act as a catalyst for gaining local communities support, because the shift in burden from parents to the state will act as an incentive and consequently, parents will be more willing to support the government’s vision to educate every Afghan child.
To address the issue of child poverty and to ensure that every child receives a quality education and becomes a responsible citizen, the government must introduce vigorous policies by criminalizing child labor and early marriage while providing guaranteed access to education for all. More importantly, given the high rate of poverty within the country, there is a strong need to introduce a welfare system for those in need so then children do not end up on the streets to put food on the table. Furthermore, the government must increase the compulsory education to sixteen years so then these children are adequately trained to face the world, to secure good jobs, and to become responsible citizens of tomorrow so then they can contribute to society.
At the recent High Council for National Reconciliation meeting, the former president Hamid Karzai stated that ‘peace can be achieved when Afghans maintain unity’. Unity can only be achieved if the government takes responsibility for the welfare and education of young people. The government has to ensure that its youths are fed, educated, and have the social awareness to protect their country and stand against their enemies as one. Ultimately, without an aggressive investment in the education system and the introduction of a strong welfare system, the country will continue to fall victim to extremists. This can only be resolved by bringing the nation together through education so then they all have a shared ideology and a common cause to help, better, and protect the future of Afghanistan.
In Afghanistan, there is no end in sight to the internal conflict that began around 40 years ago as the country is exposed to extremists more than ever. This is evident due to the recent attacks on the capital, students, journalists, and political figures. More than 50% of the population live below the poverty line and around 3.7 million children are out of school. To combat extremism and achieve long-term sustainable development and economic growth, it is imperative that the government urgently addresses youth poverty and access to education for all so then these youths become responsible citizens of tomorrow and make positive contributions to the economic and societal growth of the country.
(Malalai Ahmadi UK based Legal Advisor. Views expressed are personal.)
References:
UNICEF, n.d. ‘Providing quality education for all’. From: https://www.unicef.org/afghanistan/education
UNESCO, Afghanistan, 2015, From:http://uis.unesco.org/country/AF
Trevitt V, 2009, ‘The importance of the Welfare State under globalisation’, Think Pieces, volume 53, page 3
Asian Development Bank, 2020, ‘Poverty Data: Afghanistan’ From: https://www.adb.org/countries/afghanistan/poverty#:~:text=Poverty%20Data%3A%20Afghanistan,die%20before%20their%205th%20birthday.
Malala Fund, ‘Nearly 3.7 million children are out of school in Afghanistan — and more than half are girls’ From: https://malala.org/countries/afghanistan
President Ashraf Ghani, @ashrafghani,Twitter, 2015, From: https://twitter.com/ashrafghani/status/581128125804875777
GSDRC, Delivering education during conflict, 2015, From:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/57a08966ed915d622c0001d3/HDQ1209.pdf
David Cameron calls Nigeria and Afghanistan ‘fantastically corrupt’, BBC, 2016, From: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-36260193
