Riyasat Ali
When no one else was paying attention to the sad state of their school’s building, a group of girls in rural Afghanistan took the matter in their own hands.
The school which is Jaghori districts in Ghazni province of Afghanistan had deteriorated over the years without much governmental attention so instead of waiting around the girls decided to renovate the building themselves using their own money.
“This is my village. I am social activist and I joined these energetic girls to renovate the school building by ourselves,” said a local civil society leader, Mohammad Aqa Raadmanish who decided to photograph and document their work.
Raadmanish and thirty 7th, 8th and 9th grade students gathered together on a Friday washed the floors, painted the walls and fixed the broken parts of the school building to prepare it for summer classes.
Resilience personified
The photos of the hardworking school girls depict the spirit of volunteerism and true resilience. Being a school girl is not in Afghanistan where 72% of the schools attacked by terrorist groups are attended by girls and girls are poisoned for the simple “crime” of seeking an education.
While violence by terrorist groups has devastated the country and impacted school girls disproportionately, female students face other problems too.
Around the world women suffer the most during conflict and Afghanistan is no exception. War has destroyed the fabric of our society and distorted our cultural values. Conflict has taken away women’s right to education and made violence a daily and accepted part of their lives. In fact Afghan women face some of the highest rates of gender-based violence and school girls are not immune to that. They are often prevented from getting an education because of cultural norms that view women’s education taboo or because of lack of schools. Up to 80 percent of Afghan girls face the threat of early or forced marriages when often make it even harder for them to get an education.
While the people of Jaghori are known for their respect for education, the students are not necessarily safe from violence due to increased insecurity around the country. The girls of Jaghori face another challenge as well. Their village is improvished and under-served. Most people in the district don’t have access to even the most basic resources such as clean water and electricity. The local community produces electricity by using diesel engines only for a few hours each night so students can do their homework. All these challenges make what the girls of Hotqol- Angori Girls High School did even more praiseworthy.
Strengthening a culture of volunteerism
The students of Hotqol-Angori Girls High Schoolshowed other Afghans the best way to improve the country: volunteerism. This is especially important in Afghanistan because youth under the age of 26 make 64% of the population and their participation in civil society through volunteerism can make a real difference in the country.
Afghan youth have the potential to not only become a vibrant labor force but also to be agents of social, economic, and political change. There is only so much the international community and the government can accomplish in Afghanistan without the participation of youth. The real sustainable solution to restoring a prosperous, and peaceful Afghanistan is to believe in and thrive by our own. Our society needs dedicated volunteers to use public service as tool to bridge people from different backgrounds and ethnic groups and promote acceptance.
Volunteerism will help Afghanistan, but being a volunteer, like the girls of Jaghori, is good for individuals too. Youth who spend time volunteering gain knowledge, skills and values that can help them in their professional lives. Volunteerism can help youth become more confident and have a stronger network of support. Volunteers often have better inter-personal skills and deeper roots in their communities.
We need to take a lesson from the school girls of Jaghori and roll up our sleeves, love and protect each other and improve our communities.