Education in rural Afghanistan
In Afghanistan, many children do not go to school. Literacy and school are especially limited in the rural areas, where distance and a lack of access and resources mean that education is unrealistic for many families who live in villages where the closest school is 3 hours away.
Education is paramount to reducing poverty and increasing quality of life.
One local, Saber Hosseini is trying to rectify this.
Every weekend, Saber loads up his ‘bicycle library’ and travels to six surrounding rural villages to share his library so that the locals (who have no access to books) can learn to read and have an opportunity to read.
Saber is a schoolteacher in Bamiyan in central Afghanistan. Bamiyan is one of the poorest provinces in Afghanistan, which continues to be hamstrung by conflict, poverty and instability.
Adding to this, Afghanistan has a mountainous geography and vast tracks of barren land, which make travel to school impossible. Even if travel was possible, so many schools were destroyed and education was so severely restricted, that rural children from remote villages were forced to drop out.
The Afghani teacher who bicycles books to rural villages
Saber has been riding his bicycle library since 2016. Saber bought his first 200 books with fundraising support from his friends and local literary circles.
Saber had to travel to the Iranian border to buy most of the books as previously, most publications, literature and books were essentially forbidden.
Over the years, Saber has been supported by friends and local volunteers – as well as people overseas. Now his library has 3,500 books and Saber has since been able to open the first ever public library in Bamiyan.
Reports are that literacy rates in the area are rising as a direct result of Saber’s bicycle library.
At the start, the books were simple, but now, more advanced titles have been added as local reading rates have improved.
The library is now so accepted and popular within these communities, that adults are coming to use the library and are borrowing advanced level children’s books.
Saber uses the opportunity to talk to the locals about peace, avoiding drugs, and being more understanding of different people’s beliefs, lifestyles, culture and choices.
The following story about Saber is from the Global Citizen: One time, Saber spoke to children about guns, and used the slogan:
“Say no to guns, Say yes to books.”
The next time he returned to the same village, the children collected all of their toy guns and handed them over to Saber.
This was a heartwarming gesture, but the kids wanted to bargain: they would forfeit their guns if they could be the first village in the next round of book deliveries so that they could get the first pick.
Saber has brought joy to many communities, but there are costs to his endeavor. He has received many threats and many have opposed his caring works.
Even still, Saber continues to make room for the opportunity to learn. A library is more than just a pile of books, it is also a community of individuals willing to learn and discuss and grow
“When I hand the books out to them, I can see their excitement and joy,” Hosseini said. “It is the joy of being able to learn. I am also inspired.”
Below is a video about Saber’s bicycle library.
High Stakes: Girls’ Education in Afghanistan
- Female students have high aspirations for their educational achievement.
- Many schools do not have the infrastructure needed to provide a quality education.
- Poverty was seen as the single biggest obstacle to girls’ access to education. Poverty as a major barrier to girls attending school.
- Poverty is also linked to early or forced marriage, which is an additional major obstacle to girls’ education.
- The number of available female teachers is insufficient to meet demand.
- Availability of education is insufficient to meet demand.
- Distance, along with attendance in mixed classes or interaction with male teachers, becomes increasingly problematic as girls approach adolescence, when cultural norms regulating their behaviour become more restrictive.
- Decision-making around whether or not girls go to school, and for how long, is complex and extremely varied from province to province and even household to household.
The World Bank’s 2017 Poverty Status Update Report on the socioeconomic progress in Afghanistan, indicates that the last 15 years of growth in Afghanistan is now being undermined by a recent rise in insecurity.
Let’s hope Saber keeps riding his bike, sharing books and helping others – and that his commitment inspires others to do the same.
All Images: Now This/The Daily Motion (video still) unless otherwise indicated.