Factual Coursework-Joely Eyre

Factual coursework - Joely Eyre
It is debatable which of the articles in the Convention on the Rights of the Child is the most important. Perhaps it would be Freedom of expression, Freedom of thought, Freedom of conscience or Freedom of religion. These are all essential for the well-being and development of a child but what about article 28, the Right to education? Without an education, can a child really express their thoughts, understand their conscience or practise a religion? Only a balanced education can teach these children the values they need to carry out these rights. The right to education is not a privilege. It is not an advantage. It is a right that all children are entitled to despite their language, birthplace or religion.
On Friday 27th September 1996, women in Afghanistan were victims of the violation of this right. Girls from the age of 8 were banned from having an education. There were many girls who dreamed of an education to pursue careers as doctors or teachers, but these opportunities ceased to exist in the matter of hours. It wasn’t only girls that were victims of this disastrous decree. More than half of female teaches were stripped of their profession, leaving them feeling empty and unfulfilled. In 1998, a UNICEF report revealed that nine out of ten girls failed to be registered at school.
There was, however, in every town, one courageous individual outraged by the discrimination, who set up a secret school in her home. There was widespread concern that the girls of the next generation would grow up unable to read or write. This was the driving force behind the women who were willing to risk their lives so that the female youth could have one. Although they were fully aware of their fate would be if they were discovered, this didn’t affect their determination to fight against the fundamentalism, behind closed doors. The unlucky heroes were punished viciously. If they were found holding classes in their homes, both the teacher and the children were brutishly beaten and the teacher was sent to prison. What harm were these women causing? They were broadening children’s minds with knowledge that would help Afghanistan flourish but they were seen as a potential threat to the Taliban. The fact is, that girls were striving to learn how to form well-structured sentences and combine fractions, not how to overthrow the Taliban.
Medical education was essential for the women of Afghanistan because females were banned from receiving medical treatment from male doctors.
A disastrous situation arose because of the drop in the number of female doctors and many women developed severe illnesses. Furthermore, the majority of births took place in the home without any professional assistance; the effects were detrimental to both the mother and the babies. Pregnancy related deaths were responsible for the deaths of 1 in 23 mothers and due to malnutrition, children died so young that there was only a one in four chance of making it to their first birthday. How can it have been justified that even the first breaths that an Afghan baby girl took reflected the discrimination and injustice of the society she was going to live in? The Taliban set up traps for women that made their only remaining purpose a living
nightmare.
The barriers that the Taliban set up for women’s education were, for most girls an obstacle they were unable to overcome.
However, passion, faith and bravery strengthened one girl to challenge the same discrimination in Pakistan. Malala Yousafzai took the chance that very few 11 year olds would have taken under such a regime. She expressed the voices of thousands of silenced girls and women in Pakistan as a blogger for the BBC. This expression, however, had disastrous consequences, resulting in her attempted murder. The bullets that punctured her brain, however, resulted in international support for Malala as she became a role model to millions of girls around the globe. She became the ultimate inspiration for the young girls of Pakistan. In our democratic, westernised society, we regularly take our education for granted, and it takes a true hero, like Malala, to remind us that an education is so much more than just a qualification. For some people having an education is a matter of life and death and it takes a five – hour operation to remove a bullet, just to be noticed. Malala is a living example of justice and equality but she should not have had to endure such pain in the first place. She should have been given the opportunity to demonstrate the knowledge that has been locked away for so many years. She was only able to do this by taking her GCSE’s and getting straight A’s and A*’s. It has only been through her immense courage that millions of girls are finally being
noticed. Education for women in Afghanistan is finally being addressed and 37% of 8 million students in Afghanistan are female. We all know, nonetheless, that this figure is not even close to correcting the prejudice that women faced for so long. It is only due to outstanding individuals making valiant efforts to promote equality in Afghanistan’s education. Razia’s Ray of Hope is an example of an organisation which is striving to make a difference. Razia Jan was passionate about women’s rights and set up the Zabuli Education Centre. Here, the dedicated and highly qualified teachers educate 480 girls through a sponsorship scheme which is enabling girls around the country to regain the education they so deserve.
It appears that education for girls in Afghanistan is improving, but there are still thousands of girls today that grow up illiterate and the effects of the Taliban will remain for many years more. The fact is, their influence was so widespread that any female getting an education or being enabled to work is still a very rare occurrence. There were attempts made after the US invasion to promote gender equality, for example: women’s rights were preserved in a 2003 Constitution. However, these advancements were not as robust as they might have been. When girls travel to school each day, they do so with their life in their hands. Although many more receive an education, the violence, abuse and threats still remain. One of the most serious of incidents was when the Taliban attacked a girl’s school in Heart by poisoning them with toxic gas. Surely this kind of behaviour should not be tolerated in the 21st Century? There is clear evidence that the battle to overcome gender discrimination is far from over and that the necessity for the UK to enable education for Afghan women is vital. In the United Kingdom, we live peacefully and obliviously to the discrimination that Afghan girls face. The least we can do is play our part to help improve the quality of education for women. I urge you to write to your MP and pressurize them to prioritise the UK’s work with non- governmental organizations and international partners that fight for the rights of Afghan women. If Malala could stand up alone against the Taliban and was willing to risk her life for the education of other girls, then the UK cannot stand back or withdraw from its responsibilities.