Girlhood Page 7
Since 2001, Afghanistan has been engaged in a conflict—fighting between the Taliban, which no longer controls the government, and the United States, Afghan troops, and international allies—and it has impacted safety and access to schools. All in all, the ongoing conflict resulted in the closing of more than 1,000 of Afghanistan’s 17,500 schools.51
This has kept a lot of children out of school. Different sources, such as the government and human rights organizations, have different estimates, but according to data from 2016, about 40 percent of all school-aged children in Afghanistan do not attend school.52 And of the 3.5 million children who are not in school, a staggering 85 percent are girls.53
The future of the ongoing conflict, politics, and girls’ and women’s rights remain uncertain in Afghanistan.
“When you’ve been at war for decades, there’s a way of navigating life, it’s a little bit of, ‘if god wills.’ You know, that phrase is used all the time,” says Brelsford. “I think you live in the present in a very significant way because you don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow.”
In addition to security concerns, gender norms and expectations also play a part in keeping girls out of school.
“Afghan society is still men dominating society,” Halima says. “People do not believe in the power of their daughters. They think that only boys can do anything.” She also mentions that she was born in Daikundi, another province of Afghanistan, where child marriage is common and can keep girls from pursuing education. “In Daikundi, usually families marry off their daughters in a very young age and do not let them to go to school,” she says. “I am very thankful for being in Mazar-i-Sharif. This way I can continue my education.” She has continued her education both in school and at religious centers.
Girls here are legally allowed to marry at 16 (or 15, if her father or a judge allows it). About one-third of girls in Afghanistan are married before they turn 18 and, once married, are made to drop out of school.54
It is still not the norm for a teen-
age girl to go to school, to speak out about her life in public spaces, or to want to enter the professional sphere as Halima does. It could even be seen as a political act, or an act of resistance, since girls are traditionally seen only as daughters, wives, and mothers, not equals to men.
But Halima, and girls like her, are slowly trying to turn the tide in Afghanistan. ◊
Translated from Dari. Halima shared diary entries from summer 2018 for the series in The Lily—excerpts of those are included, along with entries from spring 2019.
Summer 2018
Every morning, I wake up at 4 a.m. I pray, read some Quran, and then do my homework. After this, I do some chores around the house. I usually finish at 7 a.m. and go to school. I spend four hours in school and come back home and then do my homework. Then, I clean the rooms, wash the dishes from lunch, and then go to Quran school.
In addition to the above work, I also peel potatoes, because my dad sells fries. We usually help him out at home.
I did a lot of work today. First of all, I did home chores. Then reviewed my school lessons and also for leisure I read some books. I wrote some English essays too. Then I headed to school and studied some more. When I got off from school, I did assignments. It was time for collective prayers, after which follows a talk. I thought about it for a while then headed to tutoring classes, studied for one hour then taught for another. I always fight problems, never give up and do my work as best as I can.
I started my day with excitement because I participated in a religious competition.* I have participated in many competitions but have not won or got any sort of prizes. Every time a male wins the competition and not a female.
However, I never give up. That is why I participate again and again in these competitions. I repeat to myself, “If men can win; we can too.” Finally, last week I won second prize in a competition that I participated in at school. That is why my day went great!
Spring 2019
By God’s blessings, I start my days by praying and reciting holy Quran. After serving my breakfast I prepare for my teaching classes—I teach English for two or three hours in separate classes at an academic center. When the classes are over I return home and it’s lunchtime. After having lunch, I wash dishes and go straight to my room in order to study and get prepared for the next day. I mostly study books in the English language, interpret English songs, topics, and sentences. Because I believe that only by making efforts and being curious can I reach my goals. I usually spend my days with laughter and joy; when I go to my class and teach people who are older than me, I feel more confident. It is also worth mentioning that when I see my family and friends happy, I feel more relaxed.
Currently, schools are not active as we are in winter vacations. Schools will resume after a month, and I impatiently count the days approaching to the start of school.
By the way, life has its ups and downs. Some days are passed sadly but some days are passed happily. Today, I was happy as it was Mother’s Day. I congratulated my mom on her day and held a small family party on the occasion of Mother’s Day. And also, there was a gathering held by the training center where more than 200 people participated, including people’s representatives [government officials]. I was happy to be one of the participants at the gathering, as such gatherings are good for increasing our knowledge and awareness regarding our cultures and customs. Such gatherings help us to become more familiar with our national customs and how to follow them properly. Generally, it was a good day for me.
I wish to become self-sufficient and serve my nation along with my brothers. How long should we be victims of traditional society? Women are not only for staying at home and doing housework, but they have capability and they are able to work as men and become financially independent. We Afghan women should not follow Western culture, but we should carry on following our Islam religion and wearing hijab, so that nobody would be able to criticize us.
I have many plans and I really want to fulfill them. After graduating from school, I would like to apply for the institute of midwifery and become a successful midwife, as well as get the chance to enter university as an English lecturer. If I failed to do so (become a lecturer), I will choose journalism. As a journalist I would like to serve my nation and raise their voice. I really want to promote women’s awareness regarding their rights as they should become aware of their human and legal rights.
I am concerned about the current situation of Afghanistan. In particular, the condition of women worries me more than any other thing, as people are still not aware of women’s rights and most families do not allow their daughters to go to schools and become educated. Afghan society is still a male-dominated society. People do not believe in the power of their daughters. They think that only boys can do anything and have the capability, an issue that is painful for me.
Thank you to Sahar for connecting me with Halima.
This competition was held on the day honoring Bibi Fatima Zahra’s birthday. She was the daughter of the Holy Prophet Mohammad in Islam. The day is also called Mother’s Day.
Jocelyne
19 years old
Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
What are your hobbies?
ASMR [a form of relaxation through watching calming videos] and music, writing, and sports. Music helps me to relax and to think about my life.
Tell us about your family, your brothers and sisters.
I live with 6 brothers and sisters from the same parents. I’m the oldest one, Denise is in fashion school, Maria studies literacy, Elyse and Anderson are still in middle school, Consolala is in kindergarten, and the last one is a baby named Xiao Jedu, which means “Little Jesus” in Chinese. He is not born yet.
What are your favorite subjects?
My favorites classes are anatomic and the pathologies [diseases] because when you study pathologie
s, I find it interesting that you always find a specific cure given the symptoms. Specific parts of the body have different symptoms and with these symptoms you can give the right cure. It’s really fascinating.
In her free time, Jocelyne likes to listen to music and ask herself important questions about life. Some of her favorites include:
•Where I’m at now?
•Where will I go?
•What will I do about my life?
•Who I’m hanging with? Are they a good influence? Do I learn from them?
•What will I accomplish for me and the society?
•What is the stage of my relationship with God?
Jocelyne also loves writing. “When I write, I can really say what I want to say without anyone judging me or hurting somebody. I just try to write to keep the original meaning of my ideas,” she says. “But [my] studies are more important because my dream is to save lives. For me it’s like being a hero.”
She’s a student in her second year of college, getting her undergraduate degree in nursing at Institut Supérieur en Sciences Infirmières, or the Higher Institution of Nursing Sciences. In addition to attending classes and studying, she also has an internship where she cares for patients.
Her days are especially long and stressful when she has to go to her internship: she leaves for work before anyone else at home wakes up and returns at the end of the day just two hours before bedtime.
Jocelyne lives in the capital city of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with her father, a mechanical engineer; her mother, a maid; and her six younger brothers and sisters. ◊
“Life is hard here,” Jocelyne writes, describing going to a well one morning to collect water.
“I would say that life in Kinshasa, and that’s what I know, is a daily adventure. Transport, water, and electricity are not always guaranteed, which is an additional difficulty to face every day,” agrees Olga Tauler San Miguel, a nurse and academic secretary at the Institut Supérieur en Sciences Infirmières, where Jocelyne studies.
These difficulties are not atypical in the DRC—even though the country is rich in minerals and precious metals, the economic inequality is significant, and it ranks as one of the poorest countries in the world, with a poverty rate of 73 percent.55
Many young people here have grown up against a backdrop of ongoing conflict and violence that has claimed millions of lives and displaced millions of people.56 A civil war that lasted from 1997 to 2003 killed more than five million people.57
And tens of thousands of children58—about a third of them girls, according to some reports59—were recruited or abducted to become child soldiers. While there has been a fragile peace since the 2000s, some renewed violence has taken place in recent years.60 As of 2018, more than 13 million people in the country needed humanitarian assistance, and more than 4.5 million people from the DRC were displaced, or forced to leave their homes.61
But the DRC is a large country—about the size of Western Europe62—and Jocelyne lives in Kinshasa, in the western part of the country. Much of the violence and horror unfolded in the east, a long way from her home. ◊
Translated from French
May 4
Today was an exhausting day. Saturdays when I’m not at school or at work (internship), I stay at home to help mum to clean the whole house.
At 6 a.m. mum woke me up to tell me to get some water from the well because we don’t have any more water. When I got there, a lot of people were already waiting to get some water; then we came back home through the mountains with some heavy bags, it was hard. Life is hard here but people from the neighborhood helped me.
Once I got back home, I cleaned the dishes and mopped up the whole house. When I was done, I went to meet some friends. I was there at 1:55 p.m. and the others only came at 3:21 p.m. Together we waited for the bus which came at 4:03 p.m.
We climbed in the bus and we went to sing religious songs from an old musician in Congo called Lutumba Simaro (he just died on March 30th). The church service started at 7:30 p.m. and ended at 8 p.m. Back home, I was really tired. I cleaned myself and then went to sleep.
May 5
Today it’s Sunday, and my brothers and I get dressed each morning to go to church which is not far from home. We woke up at 6 a.m. to clean up the house and to be ready. I took a bath and went to the church at 8 a.m. (I’m a church singer).
At noon, the church service ended and we had a 30-min rest before the rehearsal, we needed it because we are preparing for a concert called “Legends Never Die” in June. During the rehearsal I was expecting to sing alone sometimes (solo) but it never happened.
What makes me nervous is that it’s really hard to manage the rehearsal and the internship at the same time.
When I got back home, I rested a bit because I was really tired and it was a long trip, then I ate, I packed my things for the next day (internship), I washed myself and I went to sleep at 10 p.m. I was with my family in the morning and tonight, so the most interesting part is that even if we face some terrible situations, God and my family are always here for me.
May 6
Today is really a stressful day, do you know why? Because they came to assess me. I knew it, I had a feeling this morning when I woke up. So, when I started my work day I started to read all the medical files and I wrote my plans to take care of my patients during the day.
At 2:40 p.m. when I was emptying urine from a patient, I saw my teacher. She told me to be ready because she was coming to evaluate my work. I took my internship files; I started to show her all the medical service and told her how many patients and pathologies we had.
Then came the practical part (I already did this before but I was really stressed). Apparently, I did well and my teacher gave me some advice and notes about my practice and about how I should collect data on the patients. She was gone at 2:36 p.m. When I was alone, the stress turned into tiredness, but anyway I did everything I had to do.
I went home stressed and tired; I was sad because I didn’t plan this evaluation even if I did my best today. When I told this to my mother she started to laugh. At 9 p.m. we prayed together for all the love God is giving us. When I work as an intern, I see my family only 2 hours during the night, because when I go to work everyone is asleep.
Thank you to the Wonder Foundation and the Institut Supérieur en Sciences Infirmières for connecting me with Jocelyne.
Luciana
16 years old
Guatemala City, Guatemala
What are your favorite subjects?
My favorite subjects are math and art. I love using my creativity to invent new things and solve problems. I’ve always been a straight-A student, and I like to be.
Do you have any hobbies?
After school, I spend most of my time at a ballet studio, where I’ve been dancing for 9 years now. I met another group of awesome friends here, who have been dancing beside me my whole life.
What do you want to do when you grow up?
Since I was 8, I’ve been interested in pursuing a career in fashion design. I’ve taken sewing classes and even made a cocktail dress I’m pretty proud of. However, I am still exploring my options, as new careers are emerging every year.
“My ultimate goal is to be successful, happy, and give back to my beautiful country,” says Luciana.
The sixteen-year-old lives with her parents, César and Maria, and her younger brother, Thomas, all of whom she’s close to. She attends a bilingual school—studying in Spanish and English—in Guatemala, loves math and art, and is a straight-A student. Luciana has been dancing ballet since she was five years old, and she spends most of her time outside of school at the studio.
Her creativity extends beyond dance—Luciana has been taking sewing classes, and although she’s still exploring career options, one of her hopes is to become a fashion designer. She’s sociable and has a lot
of friends, and she’s also a hardworking student who gets good grades and enjoys academic achievement.
One of her proudest accomplishments is winning the Destination Imagination tournament—she’s part of a seven-person team that has been participating in this international competition every year since 2014. More than 150,000 people compete in the tournament, which includes academic challenges in several different categories, and Luciana’s team won first place in the Guatemalan national tournament this year.63 A few years ago, her team won the global finals of this competition, which Luciana describes as “one of the best experiences of our lives.”
“The Guatemalan selection was tiny compared to other countries and states,” she remembers. “But when our flag appeared on the big screen, announcing that our team had won, the entire world paid attention . . . We were jumping and screaming and hugging and crying. The name ‘Guate!’ being chanted in unison is all that I remember before running towards the stage to receive our medals and trophy. I couldn’t believe we had defeated the entire world, and I still can’t.” ◊
The life Luciana describes—surprise parties, preparing for her confirmation (a Catholic religious rite), doctor’s appointments—paints a very different picture of life in Guatemala than what you might read if you’ve been following international news in the last few years. Guatemala regularly makes the news because of gang violence (the country has one of the world’s highest rates of homicide64 and femicide—or the killing of women because of their gender65), unemployment, poverty (about 60 percent of Guatemalans live below the poverty line66), and how climate change is leading to economic and food insecurity.67