January 2 (Afghanistan Women’s News Agency) – Some of the female educators who were engaged in teaching at private schools have lost their duties due to the restrictions imposed by the Taliban on girls’ education beyond the sixth grade. They are now experiencing a state of psychological distress. One of the main reasons for the […]
January 2 (Afghanistan Women’s News Agency) – Some of the female educators who were engaged in teaching at private schools have lost their duties due to the restrictions imposed by the Taliban on girls’ education beyond the sixth grade. They are now experiencing a state of psychological distress.
One of the main reasons for the unemployment of these educators is attributed to the lack of budget in private schools. The decrease in the number of students due to the absence of girls beyond the sixth grade and the reduction in the number of students in winter has led to a financial deficit in some private schools, resulting in the dismissal of a number of teachers.
Nasima Rahmani is one of the educators who was previously engaged in teaching girls beyond the sixth grade in a private school and is now experiencing despondency due to unemployment and confinement to her home.
She says: “I have been a teacher for about 10 years. Alongside my professional duties, I was also the head of my family, but now, due to the prohibition on girls attending our school, I have also lost my job. Unemployment and confinement at home, along with the ongoing concern about managing household expenses, have led me to suffer from mental illnesses, including despondency.”
Parisa Samadi, another educator, has fallen into a state of despondency due to unemployment and confinement at home.
For someone accustomed to a lifetime of early morning commutes to work, the sudden transition to a sedentary lifestyle is exceedingly challenging. After losing my position at one of the educational institutions, it had a profoundly detrimental impact on my morale, prompting me to seek therapy for several sessions to ameliorate my state. Economic hardships and apprehensions about the future are not easily overlooked.
Some private school owners claim that after the ban on girls attending school beyond the sixth grade, the number of their students has drastically decreased. They are facing financial difficulties and, due to the lack of budget to pay the teachers’ salaries, they have been forced to dismiss some of them.
The closure of school gates to girls beyond the sixth grade in Afghanistan has created a challenging psychological situation for female educators. On one hand, they are concerned about the loss of educational opportunities for students, and on the other hand, they themselves have lost opportunities for work, education, and development. These conditions have led to female educators in Afghanistan facing stress, anxiety, and despair, feeling hopeless about their own future and that of their society.
