Afghan Girls who could not Attend School Due to Physical Problems

Written by: Samira Haleemzai

According to the information provided by the Ministry of Education of Afghanistan about 9 million students go to school. About 39-40 % of these students are girls and the remains are boys but in some places, some girls are deprived of studying due to having different physical problems.

AEPO’s writer/producer has talked to some girls about this problem.

Sideeqa, a resident of Kabul province says: “my hands are defective from my childhood and I could not hold pen and notebook in my hands and this problem caused me to leave away from school. Whenever I wanted to go out from home, other children were mocking me for my defectiveness. Now I could not even write and read; I could not solve my problems myself and I feel as a burden on the shoulders of my family and these difficulties caused me to suffer from psychological problems too.”

Palwasha, a resident of Qarabagh district, Kabul province says: “my one hand is defective from childhood and I could not any kind of work. I am illiterate and I always need the help of others.”

What are the responsibilities of the families and relatives of defective girls?

Bilqees, a resident of Kabul province says: “I am a defective girl and I decided to study school but other people were preventing me and telling me that I could not study but I continued my study and at the same time, I learned sewing clothes at home in order to fulfill my school necessities. Later, one of my friends introduced me to a vocational training Center for disabled people and I started my job as a tailoring master in that center.”

Zekria, a resident of Guldara district, Kabul province says: “my daughter is paralyzed and she is 21 years old and she passed her high school. I and her mother were helping her. I was carrying her into school in a car and then I was taking her to her class in my arms in order to study and not feel disappointment.”