Married Girls and Education Continuation

Written by: Samira Haleemzai

In accordance with Article 40, the Constitution of Afghanistan, education is the right of all citizens of Afghanistan, which shall be offered up to the B.A. level in the state educational institutes free of charge by the state. Nevertheless, some people in some areas are preventing the girls from education due to various reasons. One of these reasons is early marriage.

AEPO’s writer/producer has talked to some girls and a professor of religious sciences.

Lema, a resident of Kabul city says: “I engaged with a boy when I was a 10th-grade student. My father-in-law's family promised to marry me after my graduation from school but a few months later, they arranged my wedding and told me that I could continue even my high education. After my marriage, they told me that I am a housewife and should do the house chores. They were increasing my house chores day by day in order to leave school but I was getting up early in the morning and finishing my house chores till school time.”

Raihana, a resident of Ghazni province says: “I got married in a small age. I had to wash dishes and clothes; paying attention to the children and other house chores caused me to leave the school.”

How husbands could support their wives to go to school?

Lema says: “When I was a 12th-grade student, I delivered a baby and my husband was studying university. He deferred a full year of study and was helping me in house chores. When I succeeded to the university, he was taking care of the baby outside the university in his car, and when my baby was hungry, my husband was sending him to me for feeding to the university by the watchman.”

Engineer Abdul Satar Barakzai says: “when I married, my wife was an eleventh-grade student. I was helping her in all house chores but my parents preventing me from supporting her and they were asking me to prevent her from school but I convinced them that if she studies, she would help our family.”

Sayed Mustafa Hamas, a professor of Islamic affairs (Shariah?) in one the private higher education institute, Kabul city says: “a family would have a good life when the husband and wife help each other. Our prophet Muhammad (PBUH) has said that the best of you is the one who helps his wife and almighty Allah orders to help our wives. husband and wife should live in a peaceful environment.”

A psychologist, professor Karima Dareez, says: “when a wife has her husband’s support in her education, she would be able to solve any kind of problems in her common life. She would think that she has a very strong supporter and this support increases her morale against the difficulties and she could manage her family economic too.”