International Women’s Day 2023
As I consider International Women’s Day this 2023, one story in particular stands out in my mind. We are all so familiar with the oppression the Taliban has put on women and girls in Iran and Afghanistan since their take-over a year ago. Women have been banned from their workplaces, even if they are the sole income earner in the family. Women have been banned from the workforce within the government, and all women are now forced to wear traditional burqas any time they leave their homes. When they do, they must also be chaperoned by a male.
Most recently, teenage girls have been banned from attending school. If they do not complete their high school education, there is no threat to the Taliban that they might enter university. Through the news, we have witnessed an outcry from men and women within the country against these oppressive laws.
Most disturbing in my view is the systematic poisoning of girls who are attending schools. An estimated 5,000 girls have been subjected to this, have been injured and traumatized in the process. This is the government’s way of managing the unrest. It is barbaric and uncivilized!
A survey of children attending school has shown that 45% of girls are now not attending school, and 20% of boys do not attend. Families are being divided as boys are routinely sent off to attend school every day and girls who want so desperately to be able to learn must be kept at home. A further study found that 26% of girls are experiencing depression. Implications to these restrictions are unfathomable for those of us who live in a country where education is a given for girls as well as boys.
Here is where my complete admiration for women comes in. I recently read about some teachers who have arisen within Iran and Afghanistan, despite what the Taliban are doing, and are operating secret schools at various locations, where girls can come and learn, at least for a couple of hours a day. These teachers simply cannot bear to see the girls languish and receive no education at all.
Teachers not only give these girls their due education, but they are responding to depression many are experiencing. Girls are being taught how to handle their emotions and how to stand up for their rights. What these students and teachers could face if they get caught and arrested by the Taliban, I do not even want to imagine, but education is so important to them that they are prepared to take the risk!
Teachers have chosen to operate these schools inside apartments and homes in hopes of remaining undetected. Girls carry their Quran openly to these schools as a source of protection since study of the Quran is still allowed. Meanwhile, schoolbooks are hidden in their bags.
These teachers are many and are present-day heroes in Iran and Afghanistan. They are bringing justice into an unjust society.
Injustice and gender inequality happen all around us. We are not in short supply. I so admire those who see where injustices lie and undertake to do what they can to undo their affects. I desire to inspire and encourage women to undertake what they can in their corner of the world in the name of justice and equality. If we all take time to see what needs to be done and to do what we can, what a difference we can make!
