Courtesy Photo | School supplies lay in wait for students at Jahan Maleka School for Girls, Oct. 26, in...... read more read more
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GHAZNI PROVINCE, Afghanistan – The Ghazni Provincial Reconstruction Team paid a visit, Oct. 26, to Jahan Maleka, a girls school with 3,000 students in Ghazni City here.
The PRT arrived to donate coloring materials for a drawing contest and to see a program implemented by the U.S. Department of State that emphasizes women’s rights.
“The notebooks and coloring materials are donated from three different schools in Poland for the girls to have a drawing contest,” said Angela Szyszlo, the Ghazni PRT education specialist from Poland. “For the winners, there will be a prize.”
The school director, Shaystah, was pleased to have the materials but was unfamiliar with the purpose of a coloring contest.
“Unfortunately in Afghanistan, we don’t have this kind of competition after years of war,” Shaystah said. The Ghazni PRT offered suggestions on how to implement the art contest.
Around the corner of the main office was a classroom where 80 girls were having a mock election to learn about the voting process.
“The program consists of six hours of training and teaches female students about the role of women in the constitution, civil society, the election process and social affairs,” said Stetson Sanders, a Department of State representative and PRT member from Sacramento, Calif.
The non-governmental organization Roshna-I Social Service Organization is the implementing partner for the Department of State to run the training class, which is called The Campaign for Female Participation in Political Affairs. The goal of the class is to strengthen the participation of women in civil society by focusing on their legal rights and the electoral process.
“The girls really like the program,” said Abdul Saboor Bayat, the head of the Afghan NGO. “Some girls are not allowed to seek higher education. We want this training to encourage them to pursue a higher education.”
The girls were eager to talk to members of the Ghazni PRT and share their ideas.
“I want to study English and go to Kabul University,” one female student said, talking about her goals. “I want to become a teacher in the future.”
Others spoke about the voting process in the wake of the Sept. 18 parliamentary elections.
“To vote is a personal right and every one of us is responsible to vote for our favorite candidate,” one female student told the class. “Even if our parents told us to vote for a certain candidate, we didn’t do that because we voted for who we thought was best.”
Another student felt that it was too dangerous to vote and that because of the insecurity in the district, she did not vote.
When it came to picking candidates, the young women shared what characteristics they would look for in a contender.
“My personal favorite candidate would not be a criminal. They would be honest and want to help the people,” said one young female student.
| Date Taken: | 10.26.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 10.27.2010 08:46 |
| Story ID: | 58908 |
| Location: | GHAZNI PROVINCE, AF |
| Web Views: | 425 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, Ghazni PRT pays visit to Afghan girls school, by 1st Lt. Katherine Roling, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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