By Muzhda Mohammadi
Mitra Samim witnessed a passing event last year that has changed the course of her life.
The 25-year-old watched a group of girls graduating from grade six, sobbing that they could no longer continue. Under rules set by the Taliban de facto authorities in Afghanistan, girls are not permitted to continue education after grade six.
The tearful cohort of children were saying goodbye to their teachers and fellow students.
“They were questioning why they had succeeded so far and why they had to bid a final farewell,” Mitra said.
“It was a tragic scene for me.”
And with that, Mitra’s secret school was born.
Today, up to 25 students attend the classes at a home in the north of Afghanistan.
Against strict Taliban decrees and at risk of severe punishment, the students of the teachers spend two hours studying science and English subjects.
This report shares their story, but to protect their safety, some details are deliberately omitted from the story.
A gateway of hope
Mitra is no stranger to defiance. She is a member of Afghanistan’s powerful women’s movement, protesting the anti-women laws being enforced by Taliban violence and threats.
Speaking to Rukhshana Media, she described her initiative as “The girls’ gateway of hope”.
“In circumstances where all doors to educational centers here are shut to girls and there is no place for their education, this classroom serves as a ray of hope for many of these girls. They participate eagerly and passionately in these sessions,” she said.
The school held its first class eight months ago with the assistance from Mitra’s relative who knew teaching.
“Going to school was a pathway for girls to attain a degree of financial and intellectual independence, which sadly has been lost,” she said.
“This is distressing for all girls, and I’ve witnessed these psychological stresses and pressures in my two older sisters, who are beyond sixth grade but are denied the opportunity to attend school.”
The school has already faced some hurdles, including a three-month hiatus for security concerns. However, even with the lack of security, now that classes have resumed, she has many girls wanting to enrol.
But a lack of teachers, space, resources, and the need to keep it small to ensure it remains hidden, keeps the number of students low.
Mitra said most of the requests she receives to join the classes go unanswered.
All girls are affected
Mitra was studying economics at Mazar-i-Sharif University when the Taliban banned universities from accepting female students.
After being barred from her education, Mitra returned to her home town and spent a year working as a tutor, teaching mathematics and physics in private. But it was limited, and Mitra said before the secret school, she was mostly confined to her home.
“These conditions [under Taliban rule] affect all girls, including me,” she said.
Secret schools in Afghanistan are a risky strategy but they’re growing in popularity for women and girls seeking to bypass the Taliban’s restrictions and also for the sense of solidarity they inspire.
Sanam*, 17, was a student in grade eight until the Taliban’s education ban.
“I used to dream of becoming a defense lawyer. Sadly, that dream is now buried, and I will carry this goal with me to the grave,” she said.
“The Taliban do not want to witness the success of girls and they prevent girls from reaching their potential. During the three years we were deprived of formal education, we could have at least enriched our minds, but sadly, they did not allow it and placed numerous obstacles in our path,” she said.
She has started attending Azadi secret school, and while the defense lawyer dream is out of reach as long as the Taliban is in charge, she continues to pursue her education.
“I hope they remain unaware of the existence of these clandestine classes,” Sanam said.
Hamaira*, 13, and Samira*, 14, are seventh grade students at the Azadi secret school.
They believe girls have lost hope in their isolation and see no hope of schools reopening.
“I never imagined the Taliban would deny us the right to go to school. Because we are forbidden from attending, we spend our days confined at home from morning until night,” Hamira said.
She added that she does not believe the Taliban would ever fulfill their request to reopen schools.
“I am not optimistic about our future. I know that under Taliban rule, the doors of schools will never open for girls, even if all the girls of Afghanistan request it from them,” she said.
They urged the international community to increase pressure on the Taliban to support girls’ education.
The Taliban issued a decree to “temporarily” close girls’ schools on September 17, 2021. It impacted about 1.2 million girls above the sixth grade.
Despite the Taliban’s multiple assurances it would reopen the schools, these promises have not been fulfilled. As of now, almost 1015 days have passed since girls were barred from school gates.
Afghanistan is the only country to have ever denied girls the right to go to school.
Human rights groups sound the alarm on school ban
Human rights organizations have repeatedly reported that the harm being done to girls and women through this decree is leading to terrible outcomes for girls and women, including the increase of forced marriages, child marriages, domestic violence, suicide, and an increased reliance and use on sedatives.
UN Women released a report July 3 to examine the gender inequality in Afghanistan. It found damning evidence that multiple outcomes for girls and women are worse since the Taliban came to power with dozens of decrees restricting freedom, and access to information and protection.
The ban on girls’ education has led to a 25 percent increase in child marriages in the country, escalated early childbirth rates by up to 45 percent, and potentially increased maternal mortality by 50 percent.
It’s in light of these damaging realities, which girls and women see in action, that is driving Mitra to keep her school going, and more schools like it are popping up.
Mitra is calling on other women and girls in more remote areas of the country to establish a hidden school and fight the normalization of girls being deprived of education.
“The issue of girls’ education has never been highly prioritized in Afghanistan, particularly in remote provinces. But now, in the current situation, its has decreased even more in significance,” Mitra said.
“It’s particularly distressing these days to see the normalization of girls not attending school. When this becomes common, people will no longer consider it important whether a girl goes to school or not.”
Note*: Names are changed due to security reasons.
