Rant: Education for Afghani Women

I just read this article and it makes me want to take action.

Recently I have been doing a lot of reading and havne’t been moved by almost any of it. Cruise continues to prove he is missing some marbles, there is still a race between woman and African-Americans (Hilary v. Obama), we’ve done some cloning, Steve Jobs is still doing Apple thing, society is still concerned about pedophiles (as they should be), and the Bust Administration is finally realizing that it should probably do something about the dire stare of the economy. However, reading an article about women’s education in Afghanistan pulls on my heart strings and makes me want to do something. As sad as this is, I don’t really know what to do, but I feel action is necessary. And for starters, I will try and spread the word.

Please read this article: The Girl Gap

It is wonderful to hear that women are no longer ban from receiving an education, and it's wonderful to hear that people realize how important education is; however, with that said, there are so many obstacles the Afghan women (and education system on a whole) have to face. Here are some stats that struck me:

The negative:

Sarwary's tiny school doesn't have enough classrooms.
There is no playground or running water.
The toilet, a pit latrine located at the far corner of the school compound, serves 1,500 students.
Only two of the 23 female teachers have graduated from high school.
Half the second-grade students, ranging in age from 7 to 12, can read.
In more than 80% of rural districts, there are no girls in secondary school at all.
Only 28% of the country's accredited teachers are women.
Fewer than 30% of eligible girls are enrolled in schools, and
the infrastructure is so poor that only a tiny fraction are likely to get the education they need to enjoy the fruits of emancipation.
Finally, most Afghan families won't allow their daughters to be where they may be seen by men (and most of the teachers are males)

On the upside, since the Taliban were overthrown in 2001:

Women can now vote,
they have a quarter of the seats in parliament, and
they are legally allowed to find jobs outside the home.
Foreign donors and nongovernmental organizations have expended a great deal of energy and capital on building women's centers and conducting gender-awareness workshops.

Important: Every social and economic index shows that countries with a higher percentage of women with a high school education also have better overall health, a more functional democracy and increased economic performance. Educated women are a strong bulwark against the extremism that still plagues Afghanistan

The long of the short of it is that we people, women and educator especially, need to be aware of this and need to find a way to help. I understand that it is not entirely feasible to go over to Afghanistan and lend a hand, but look for ways to make a difference. Issues like education abroad (not only for women) are extremely important and often don't receive the attention they deserve. It is vital that each country has an educated populous. Spread the word and support education however you can.

Thank you for reading my rant.