Thirty Rural Afghan Girls to Teacher Training

Your support has helped 30 young women from rural northern Afghanistan continue to be transported safely to our Teacher Training Center. These aspiring female teachers attend training classes six days a week and look forward to educating students from their villages after completing the two-year-long cycle.

This level of commitment results in a sense of accomplishment and excitement as newly minted teachers enter their own classrooms. This is expressed very well in one of the teachers own words. “I always think about how I can help improve the lives of my students, relatives and neighbors through my work. I am committed to working hard at the school so that my students are able to think for themselves and become successful members of society,” said Jahida.  

Afghanistan’s literacy rate is very low and among the literate population women are a minority. The Asia Foundation conducted a public opinion poll in 2014 of Afghan citizens and when asked about the most pressing problems facing women today, Afghans consistently identified education and illiteracy, a lack of job opportunities for women among the top concerns.

After 13-14 years of age, female students prefer and feel more comfortable being taught by female teacher. Families are also more likely to send their daughters to school if the teachers are women, or let them stay in school longer if the teachers are women. Afghanistan lacks professional teachers, both males and female, in general because only 43% of them meet the minimum qualifications for teaching and most of them are in urban areas. There are very few female teachers; only 32% of the teachers are women. The rural areas are in dire need of female teachers. The lower the number of female teachers results in fewer female students  in middle and high school.

You have provided more girls in rural northern Afghanistan with the opportunity to learn. These 30 future teachers, who you have helped transport to our teacher training center, will impact an estimated 3,500 students a year upon graduation.

Your dollars impacted the lives of thousands of girls. We thank you for your support in helping us end the cycle of female illiteracy and in creating more opportunities to learn in rural Afghanistan. One female teacher has the power to change the future of girls’ education.