Afghanistan’s female teachers: From careers in education to begging on the streets

Scores of former female Afghan teachers are being forced to search for any kind of work they can to scrape a living for their families after the Taliban ordered the indefinite closure of girls' secondary schools across the country.

The situation has led to some, like Ghouti Firdous, a former teacher, resorting to begging on the streets after being unable to find work.

Ghouti, from Kandahar province, was forced to beg to raise enough money to afford food for her family and treatment for her husband who suffers from ill health. To begin with, she tried to sell pens on the street, but when it became clear no one was buying them, she moved on to begging.

Tip of the iceberg

Qari Zinet Khan, another Kandahar resident, said to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, The New Arab's Arabic-language sister edition: "The situation has been appalling for many female teachers since the Taliban closed the schools and stopped [girls'] education."

She points out that the women who have been forced to switch from teaching to other jobs are incredibly brave – they have had to break social boundaries in order even to go to the markets to secure a livelihood.

"Scores of former female Afghan teachers are being forced to search for any kind of work they can to scrape a living for their families after the Taliban ordered the indefinite closure of girls' secondary schools"

However, she stresses that they represent the tip of the iceberg. There are thousands more in extremely precarious circumstances, he says, but who have not sought work in markets or on the streets as vendors, mainly due to Afghan social customs which don't allow women to work amongst men.

Afghan society frowns on women working in many different jobs she explains. Moreover, many families won't let the women go to the marketplace to work, no matter how impoverished they are, and however few other options they have.

Child labour rising due to female work ban

Qari explains that female teachers have had to resort to myriad ways to scrape a living.

Among them is Sahar Mujib. She started sending out her two small sons into the streets of Jalalabad to collect rubbish to sell; like cardboard boxes and plastic bottles. Before Ramadan, Sahar had started boiling eggs at home, and sending her sons out to sell them in the local market.  

However during the month of fasting that was no longer possible, so the family resorted to rubbish collecting.

"There are no words to describe my situation," says Sahar.

"My husband used to work in a restaurant in Jalalabad, and I was a teacher in a local school, and our situation was good. But after the Taliban took control […] I was banned from working. My husband decided to leave Afghanistan to try to reach Europe.

He paid what money we had to the smuggler, but then he was arrested by the Iranian police on the border and was badly beaten. Now, he has severe back pain and is unable to work as before – he only works when he can find an easy job. I have been forced to rely on my two little boys to secure us a piece of bread."

She continues: "We have no choice but to pay the debts my husband borrowed. If the schools open [again] and I could return to work, I would be able to sort out my life again."

Community activist Radia Muhib relates the story of a teacher called Zeinab who lives in Kambani district on the outskirts of Kabul. Zeinab prepares Bolani (a type of Afghan bread stuffed with potatoes and vegetables and fried), and sells it at the market wearing a burka so no one can see her face.

"The Taliban government didn't consider all the social repercussions that would stem from their decision to shut the schools, nor the psychological impact on both teachers and students"

She works from 11 am and returns home just before sunset, and only makes between 200-250 Afghanis ($2.33-$2.91) with which to provide for her children. Her husband died five years ago after suffering a heart attack. Her former job as a private school teacher enabled her to support her family. However, the Taliban’s decision to close the schools left her jobless, forcing her into her current situation.

The societal domino effect of school closures

"The Taliban government didn't consider all the social repercussions that would stem from their decision to shut the schools, nor the psychological impact on both teachers and students," says Radia. She calls on the government to reopen girls' schools as soon as possible, "for the country to exit this impasse, and to give respite to the section of the population being oppressed mentally, socially, and in terms of their basic living conditions."

Until a few years ago, Hadia Ahmadi's (56) life was good. She was headmistress of the famous Habibia High School in Afghanistan, earning a decent salary which provided for the needs of her family. However, the entry of the Taliban into government in August 2021 changed everything, as it did for most female teachers in Afghanistan. After losing her post, she tried to find solutions to her growing financial crisis, but to no avail, until she was forced to begin work as a shoe shiner.

Today, Hadia sits at the side of a road close to the presidential palace in Kabul offering to polish the shoes of passers-by. She works from the early morning into the evening to earn between 200-300 Afghanis ($2.33-$3.49) per day. This hardly meets the cost of bread for her family and a few basic essentials. During heavy rain and snowfall she can't work, she adds.

Impoverishing women: In line with Sharia?

Activists published a recorded message by her on social media channels, where she said that her life today had been turned upside down and that while she saw no shame in her current work, her health and age made it difficult – but she had no other option.

She said she had started suffering from high-stress levels due to her new, harsh living conditions, to the extent that the noise of cars and workers at the market had started causing her anxiety. However, she keeps working despite all the challenges. She says the hardest thing is when rain or snow stops her from working and so from providing for her family of 14 people.

Hadia wasn't just a teacher, she was the headmistress of the most famous school in Afghanistan, and played a role in the graduation of many prominent Afghans. And today, she has to shine shoes to eat!

Radia says Hadia's situation reflects that of all female teachers who have been prohibited from working by the Taliban. She adds: "The situation is dire, and the case of this teacher is a good example because Hadia wasn't just a teacher, she was the headmistress of the most famous school in Afghanistan and played a role in the graduation of many prominent Afghans. And today, she has to shine shoes to eat! What is happening must spur the people, the government, the rich, and charitable institutions to come up with solutions."

Reopening schools a moral and religious obligation

Mir Ahmad Khan, an Afghan tribal leader, says the Taliban closed the schools as they didn't think they were in line with sharia law, "but they have not uttered a word about the sorts of jobs which Afghan women are [now] doing in the marketplaces.

"The case of Hadia Ahmadi and others is one example, and there are hundreds of other women who have gone to work in the markets or to beg, but due to Afghan social customs and taboos, they hide what they’re doing. Reopening the schools would be far better than [women] going to the markets to work or beg. Moreover, this is not just a legitimate moral and religious obligation, but it would also help them get out of this appalling situation."

While the Taliban hasn't released current statistics on the number of female teachers who have been deprived of work due to the girls' secondary school closures, the previous Ministry of Education under former President Ashraf Ghani did publish statistics shortly before the government collapsed.

Around 170,000 teachers were estimated to be employed in state schools, of which 33 percent were female outside of Kabul. In Kabul itself, 78 percent of teachers were female, according to the statistics, and taught in both girls' and boys' schools. In the private education sector, the ratio of female teaching staff was even higher. The majority of female teachers are now out of work.

In spite of intense pressure both local and international, the Taliban has maintained its closure of girls' secondary schools. It followed up this restriction by barring female students from attending universities last December and then banning women from working in state or non-state institutions. Most recently they barred women from working for the UN in Afghanistan, in April 2023.

The UN is prepared to withdraw its services from Afghanistan if they are unable to convince the country's hardline Taliban administration to allow local women to work for them by May https://t.co/T8bbt8Y4p0

— The New Arab (@The_NewArab) April 19, 2023

In light of this wave of policies, Afghan women are suffering immense hardship in terms of their living conditions, as well as in society, and in terms of their mental health.

The Taliban has also put itself into a critical situation, especially as it strives to gain international recognition, whilst its treatment of women is drastically out of line with international norms and aspirations. 

While the Taliban leadership has promised to reopen the secondary schools, it has since backtracked, stating that the schools would remain closed until "a plan for school uniforms that comply with Islamic law is drawn up".

This is an edited translation from our Arabic edition. To read the original article click here.

Translated by Rose Chacko

This article is taken from our Arabic sister publication, Al-Araby Al Jadeed and mirrors the source's original editorial guidelines and reporting policies. Any requests for correction or comment will be forwarded to the original authors and editors.

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