By: Rukhshana Media
More than 200 students, half of whom were schoolgirls, took part in a book reading competition on Monday, July 11, in Jaghori district of Ghazni province.
The goal of the competition was to promote the culture of reading and raise the level of the students’ knowledge and awareness, the organizers said.
The competition, which was organized by the Shahid Jawad Amiri Foundation, was held in the Sayed Ahmad area of Jaghori district.
Religious, literature, calligraphy, and painting books were distributed among the contestants to read around a month ago, then were quizzed about them yesterday, said Abdul Khaliq Panahi, a local social activist.
Rahman Sarwari, the communication officer at Shahid Jawad Amiri Foundation, said though girls made half of the participants, they won more than half of the cash and non-cash awards when the results were announced on Tuesday.
Mohammad Isa Amiri, Jawad Amiri’s father, after whom the foundation is named, said the foundation has organized three reading competitions since it was founded in 2018. But the number of participants in Monday’s competition increased to over 200, from 100 and 150 in the two previous competitions.
Female students took part in Monday’s competition at a time when girls of secondary education aren’t allowed to go to school across Afghanistan including Jaghori district.