Miranda Ramnares<\/p>\n
\n
Education is more than books, papers and tests.
\nFor some it is a voice for the voiceless, a pathway away from oppression, and a
\ndoorway to freedom. In the Taliban controlled Afghanistan, none are more
\nvoiceless, oppressed and in need of freedom than young women. Women were attacked; schools that supported female students were raided and bombed.<\/p>\n
Before the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in 1996, women participated in all aspects of the political structure, they were respected professionally, and they enjoyed the benefits of education. By the time the Taliban had invaded Kabul, the capitol
\nof Afghanistan, half of all civil servants had been women.<\/p>\n
When the Taliban arrived, they tore the country apart. They destroyed homes, imposed harsh laws on the citizens, and restricted the rights and freedoms of women for whenever and wherever they travelled.<\/p>\n
For 15 years, women lived under the violent shadow of the Taliban. They were terrified to walk the streets alone, to go to school, to work, to vote, to express themselves, to be
\nrespected and valued as human beings.<\/p>\n
Education has always been one You won\u2019t Learning to read and write gives people a voice to speak out against their oppressors. A particular art form that a few very courageous women have embraced is poetry. Like the Mirman Baheer is a group of young aspiring female poets in Afghanistan, it was started underground during the Taliban regime but it has since risen up to become a government supported group of women and girls. The threat of violence and oppression still clouds Afghanistan; however, the skies may soon begin to clear. With the growing support for groups like Mirman Baheer, women who use poetry as a means to battle oppression are slowly gaining strength. Canada has pledged to spend 12 million dollars over the next three years in Afghanistan to Miranda Ramnares Education is more than books, papers and tests. For some it is a voice for the voiceless, a pathway away from oppression, and a doorway to freedom. In the Taliban controlled Afghanistan, none are more voiceless, oppressed and … Continue reading
\nof the most devastating privileges to deny a person. For example, withholding
\nthe right to learn how to read was a tactic used by American slave owners, for
\nfear that education would give slaves the strength and knowledge to run away
\nfrom the tyranny of slavery. Knowledge is empowerment, it is a way to construct
\nand create a better society. By barring women\u2019s accessibility to education, the
\nTaliban stole the possibility that one-day, women would be able to throw off
\nthe oppressive regime. A young Afghani girl, Lima, described this in a haunting
\npoem she wrote this year for a meeting of the Mirman Baheer poetry group at the
\nWomen\u2019s Affairs Ministry in Kabul.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n
\nallow me to go to school.\u00a0<\/em>
\nI won\u2019t become a doctor.\u00a0<\/em>
\nRemember this:<\/em>
\nOne day you will be sick.<\/em><\/p>\n
\nlives of these young women, their poetry is saturated with tragedy and without
\nany sort of formal education; poetry is a convenient vehicle for expression.<\/p>\n
\nAlthough the group is publicly recognized, many women still have to put
\ntheir lives in danger to simply have a voice. Now, even though the corporeal
\npresence of the Taliban has faded, the ghost of the regime still lingers. Women
\nin Afghanistan still struggle against the misogynist values that some still
\npossess. For example, a young woman named Zarmina claimed her own life two
\nyears ago after her poetry was discovered by her brothers, she was brutally
\nbeaten and her notebooks filled with poetry were destroyed. Two days later, she
\nset herself on fire. Zarmina\u2019s struggle has created a martyr out of her. She
\nhas come to represent the danger and rebellious freedom attached to each poem.<\/p>\n
\nstabilize the rocky education system by building more schools and restoring old
\nones. At North Toronto, we can help these women by making sure that their
\nvoices are never silenced. By simply staying informed of the situation, we can
\nmake a difference, by listening to what they have to say, we can change their lives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"