From 17 November-1 December 2005, Brenda Bell (BBell@edc.org) graciously agreed to be a guest facilitator on the Women and Literacy listserv. The focus of her time with us was to discuss her literacy work in Afghanistan. Brenda Bell, formerly Associate Director of the Center for Literacy Studies, University of Tennessee, and long-time EFF manager, was in Afghanistan for several months assisting with the Literacy for Community Empowerment Program (LCEP), a project of Education Development Center in partnership with UN Habitat. This was Brenda's third trip to Afghanistan in the past ten months. The LCEP, active in five Afghan provinces, links literacy with governance and economic development activities in 200 rural villages. Literacy teachers, for women's and men's classes, are from the villages, and often have less than a 10th grade education. They are supported by training and mentoring provided by facilitators at the district and national level.

Thanks to Ryan Hall, a graduate student at Georgia State University, the following represents a compilation of the various topics discussed by discussion list subscribers while Brenda Bell facilitated the discussion. Each topic is organized by a series of questions followed by the responses to those questions. Both questions and discussion postings were posed by listserv members and the guest facilitator, Brenda Bell. Most of the postings were copied and pasted verbatim, with a few words edited here and there to facilitate reading. For complete postings, along with author information, go to the Women and Literacy Archives at: (http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/womenliteracy/2005/date.html), and look at postings between November 17, 2005 and December 1, 2005.

1. Introduction from Ms. Bell

For the past several weeks I've been heading up an internal program evaluation, focusing on the three provinces where LCEP literacy activities have been in place since April. With team members, I've visited 16 villages in the Bagram district of Parwan province, north of Kabul, and the Sayghan district of Bamiyan province, west of Kabul. Others visited villages in Zindajan district of Herat province in the western part of the country. In each village, we met with the women's and men's Community Development Councils (partners in the local literacy work), observed classes, interviewed teachers, and talked with learners, members of self-help groups, and members of youth committees. What is emerging from all of our data is a picture of the beginning stages of literacy that supports the development of local community institutions -- in a country where the social fabric has been stretched thin or ripped during the decades of conflict and war. . . In the village literacy programs that I've visited here, young people and adults are highly motivated to learn to read, write (in Dari or Pashtu, the languages of instruction) and calculate, and just to learn, period. And we see that people are learning fast. We can speculate that this is due to the strong motivation and perhaps in part to the approach and structure of the program.

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2. History and Background of Literacy Programs in Afghanistan

Questions:

Perhaps you can give us a little history of adult education in Afghanistan, focusing on women's education. For example, what was women's education in Afghanistan like twenty years ago, ten years ago, and today? How is adult education administered and delivered -- through a government nonformal education agency and nongovernmental provider organizations? How has the content of classes (or tutorials?) changed? Who are the teachers, and how are they trained? How are students "recruited"? How is education conducted when there is armed conflict?

Discussion:

2A.      King Amanullah Khan, who ruled from 1919 to 1929, was very active in promoting education in general - and is known as the 'father of literacy' in Afghanistan for his support of literacy for adults. Under his reign, Acabar (Arabic for elder, I'm told) literacy courses were started and were widely respected, according to my colleagues.

2B.      According to documents from the Afghan Ministry of Education, government-sponsored literacy programs started in Afghanistan in 1971. For the period 1980 -2002, there is no data available about the numbers of participants and teachers by gender. In 1977 (the year for which gender-specific data is available), there were 395 men teachers and 36 female teachers, with ca 15,000 male students and 1,000 female students. In 2004, the Ministry's Department of Literacy and Nonformal Education reported ca. 170,000 men and 215,500 women participating in literacy courses across the country, at regional and local literacy centers. While in the past there were a variety of literacy programs (e.g., general adult literacy; literacy for out of school youth; literacy for farmers, laborers, nomads, soldiers), the only ones functioning at present through the Department are general adult literacy and literacy for out of school children.

2C.      As you can imagine, there are multiple initiatives underway to address the fact that Afghanistan's literacy rates are among the lowest in the world. (For the population over 15 years of age, the basic literacy rates are estimated at 46% for men and 16% for women.) The Department of Literacy and Nonformal Education, in partnership with UNESCO, has developed a new literacy and nfe [Nonformal Education] curriculum framework and materials, which are scheduled to be printed and available by the end of this year. Donor agencies (UNESCO, UNICEF and USAID, among many others) have programs that are addressing literacy needs of specific groups: women being the largest and most needy; other 'target' groups include ethnic and linguistic minorities; poor and marginalized groups; ex-combatants; and people with disabilities. Some programs are general in nature; others focus on health, micro-enterprise development or vocational preparation. And at least one (LCEP, mentioned in other emails) is focusing on the literacy needs of communities as they try to develop local resources, including governance and economic opportunities. Sometime in the near future, representatives of these governmental and nongovernmental agencies will be holding discussions about a national coordinated literacy strategy (and campaign perhaps) for Afghanistan.

2D.      The Ministry of Women's Affairs offers classes for young women who are married and have children on its compound in Kabul. There was a system of this type in previous years at the provincial level; I don't know how extensive it was. The Ministry of Education Vital Literacy Department's policy includes the possibility of attending adult classes up to the 9th grade. In practice, they are only using textbooks that take men and women up to the 3rd grade level. The Ministry certainly recognizes the need to educate adults beyond a 3rd grade level; however, their resources are slim.

2E.      There are efforts - or at least some discussion and interest - in creating programs on a small scale to educate men and women at the upper levels. One program was under discussion earlier; the intent was to educate the police force, both men and women. The minimum level of education varied according to rank. I don't know how far along this program is. One of our programs recruits women with at least a sixth or seventh grade education, and provides pre-training for community midwifery education. The number of women involved in this program is very small. The second program can take women up to a sixth grade equivalency in reading, writing, numeracy and some social sciences/health. We found that some of the women in these classes became primary school and literacy teachers. Focus, for the most part, has been on basic literacy. There is some funding for very basic literacy education integrated with other skills that people can use straight away.

• "The early literacy courses for adults were called 'elder literacy.' The courses lasted for 3 months and the methods used were memorization and drill. While the classes were mostly for men, there were courses for women in basic literacy and some that were related to vocational skills."
• "During the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, the number of literacy courses increased, but according to the discussion, the level of learning dropped. Really they were using literacy for political objectives. Literacy groups were formed but not much learning took place. They were used to implement the objectives of the government. Not many people became literate."
• They also said that during the 'mujahadeen time' when the U.S. backed the mujahadeen fight against the Russians, literacy texts were also politicized. They cited the now-famous (in some circles) example of numeracy activities in which the items to be counted were guns.
• "Now when we go into villages with our literacy program, some people are very suspicious. They want to make sure that our program is not going to be like other literacy programs that 'misled' the people. We tell them no, it is not the same. You can look at our teaching materials and at our lesson guides and see that this is a program that will help villagers get the skills they need to develop their communities. We are promoting peace and empowerment. And we include quotations from the Qu'ran in our materials. This helps us."

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3. Classroom Setting

Questions:

I am wondering whether you see an equal amount (more or less) of women and men in the literacy programs. Are the classes co-ed? What challenges do women students face that men may not (but also what challenges do men face)? Are the teachers also of the same gender as the students in each class? On NPR this morning, there was a segment about Afghan refugees in Germany being sent back to Afghanistan, the German gov. having decided that they were no longer in danger there from the Taliban. The segment was saying this was especially hard on the Hindu Afghanis, since they still feel they would surely suffer if sent back. It made me wonder about your programs and whether you have contact with Afghani women who are not Muslim.

Discussion:

3A.      In general, there are more women than men in literacy programs here in Afghanistan. In the government-run programs, figures for last year show about 45,000 more women than men enrolled, out of a total enrollment of about 385,500. This is not surprising, given that women were denied access to education under the Taliban government and are so eager to learn. But men are eager, too, having lived for so many years in the midst of fighting with limited educational opportunities.

3B.      Classes for women and men are held separately. There may be some places in Kabul where literacy classes are held for women and men together, but I'm not aware of them.

3C.      I have been working on an integrated health and literacy program for women in Afghanistan the past 1 ½ years. In the vast majority of cases, not only do the facilitators need to be the same gender as the participants but the trainers (and anyone else who might visit the class) need to be female as well. We need to tread very softly here, given the history of literacy education and the reactions towards education of females in the country. We were advised not to introduce the courses as simply literacy education or women's education. Instead, we introduced the courses as health education and literacy classes to help gain greater acceptance in the community.

3D.      . . . the women I worked with (and still do) told me that they had to involve men and boys because they would be the future men of the communities, and would be their sons-in-law. In one community that had lost many generations of men to intergenerational alcoholism, women said that by involving the men, they were securing a better future for their daughters. Some of these same women who worked in middle class homes as maids could not understand the quiet oppression of their middle-class female employers.

3E.      Only 1% of the population is not Muslim. (of the Muslim population, about 80% are Sunni and 19% are Shia). And, as best I know, most of this 1% lives in Kabul. The literacy program that I'm working with does not have activities in Kabul, so no, I haven't been in touch with Hindu Afghans, or Christian Afghans, of whom there are a few, I'm told.

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4. Goals/Views/Uses of Literacy

Questions:

Do the men and women express similar literacy goals?

Discussion:

4A.      As for literacy goals -- I can speak most directly from my own experience with learners in the Literacy and Community Empowerment Program -- both female and male. During the recent internal evaluation field visits to 16 villages in three provinces, we talked with 409 females and 365 males, in 32 classes. Their ages ranged from 10 to over 40, with the majority in the 13-18 range. (This program is primarily for youth and young adults, though open to learners over the age of 10, with no upper age limit). In the structured discussions held with each group, we asked questions such as: why are you participating in this learning center? what do you hope to do with the skills you are learning?

4B.      The common response to the first question (why are you in this class?), from both male and female classes, was to learn reading, writing and math! Of course. But with further probing, the young men said things like - to be able to read letters from relatives in Iran; to read shop signs; to get skills to help my family; to have a better future; to help our country develop; to become doctors, engineers, entrepreneurs, carpenters, metal workers. Young women said -- to read and write letters to relatives; to become teachers (most); doctors, engineers, shop keepers (some); to do business in the bazaar; to learn everything we can; to help our families and our community. (Of course, there were many other comments -- these were the most common.)

4C.      …People join literacy classes for many reasons - to be able to write letters, to keep better track of their money, etc. In terms of schooling, most of the women completing the literacy classes do not have the opportunity to continue their education. The Ministry of Education has a cut-off age for the children attending school in the lower grades. An accelerated program for age 12 and under has been established. Boys and girls - in separate classes - study in these classes until the 6th grade; they then continue on to the formal schools.

4D.       From 1999-2004, I traveled back and forth to Mali and Guinea in West Africa helping World Education establish literacy programs, in a role not unlike Brenda's. In Mali, when we asked literacy class participants how they were using their literacy skills, a common response was: I'm not getting cheated in the market anymore. We were interested to learn that folks were using literacy immediately---before they knew the entire alphabet, for example, and in ways we wouldn't have predicted. One man explained that in their village, when they were going to share the meat of an animal, the tradition was to get a stone for each family who wanted a share. The total number of stones indicated the number of shares, thus how to divide the meat, etc. But it didn't help him remember exactly which families. Now he was writing the names of the families: making a list. A few parents showed me how they monitor their kids' homework: now they can read the date at the top of the page and question the kids if there doesn't seem to be enough written below it. What struck me was that these folks were treating literacy as a tool to use in very practical ways.

4E.      One thing that poor women have told me throughout my work in India and Pakistan (we also fund a programme in Afghanistan), apropos literacy is that there is a clear distinction between education which they see as formal schooling, and literacy. To them, in their words, literacy is a way of 'decoding the city', and getting the better of the moneylender, and 'not feeling invisible in a world of words'. Whenever math was taught through pricing, loans owed to a moneylender, and literacy taught through health, and writing and signing petitions, literacy gained importance. If it was not linked to practical, everyday survival, it was not interesting at all. In one slum, I still recall, we were told that if these 'education skills' did not lead to employment or better lives, they were no use to them.

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5. Instructional Approaches

Questions:

Do you see one underlying approach or set of principles and values used in adult literacy instruction in Afghanistan? For example, is this literacy for religious education, or is this literacy for empowerment (a Freirean model) or is this -- like a children's literacy model -- decontextualized basic skills, or do you see a contextualized approach incorporating livelihood (job skills) and daily living skills, or something else? Do you see -- as we do in the U.S. and other countries -- several different philosophical approaches being used? Would you say the model (or models) used for women's literacy in particular focus on empowerment? What types of health issues do you discuss in your program? Has there been any attempt to meld this training with Mine Risk Education?

Discussion:

5A.      Here in Afghanistan you will find a variety of instructional approaches with different underlying principles, everything from a 'pure' Freirian problem-posing and analysis approach to very decontextualized direct teaching of basic skills. From what I can tell (all materials are not available yet), the new UNESCO-Afghan Ministry of Education literacy curriculum takes a broad view of literacy skills (including verbal communication skills, reading, writing, numeracy skills, problem-solving), and encourages learners to participate in their communities and develop lifelong learning habits.

5B.      Topics include religious and social values, economy, health and environment, security and human rights, agriculture and livestock, and life skills (a category that looks sort of like a mixture of pieces of EFF standards, common activities and role maps!). However, the curriculum framework that I have seen doesn't give any guidance to the teacher on how to teach in a contextualized way.

5C.      There are three levels in basic literacy and three in post literacy that detail the expected reading, writing and math competencies. . . To illustrate an eclectic approach, I'll give a few details about the LCEP approach to literacy teaching. During the early stages of program design, the following definition of literacy was developed by the Afghan lead trainers: Literacy is understood as Swadimoszish tawanmandi (Dari for reading for critical understanding of one's world) rather than Amozish tawanmandi (Dari for reading and writing). "Literacy is the fluent, context-specific and effective use of oral and written language in ways that lead to self empowerment, good governance and a deeper understanding of local knowledge, resources and skills. It is the use of the language of unity in relation to self, daily life and environment; the use of language to improve one's self confidence and living conditions (individually and in cooperation and consultation with family and community; and the gaining of knowledge and understanding of human rights and the broadening of one's vision and understanding of the world beyond the known and familiar." The program's guiding principles include, among other statements, a commitment to learner-centered, participatory teaching and learning that is purposeful and meaningful; and a commitment to developing curriculum materials that draw on the experiences and materials of daily village life. Carrying out these principles has been another matter - not impossible - but not easy. In an effort to supplement the training and support for the 386 women and men who are teaching in LCEP's village learning centers, curriculum materials have been developed that help the teacher learn how to teach in new ways and to actively involve learners - through small group activities, full group discussion, and some group projects. Teaching of reading and writing is a combination of whole language, whole word, and the Dari/Pashtu equivalent of phonemic awareness and phonics. Teachers were disturbed that instead of starting with aleph (the letter A), they started with the word salam -- the standard greeting -- and the letter S. But now most seem to like this different approach -- and were impressed that within a week, learners could read and write the phrase 'salam, Sima' - and soon moved on to their own names and short sentences.

5D.      … teachers have become dependent on the curriculum materials developed in Kabul, and are not yet developing their own ideas, activities and materials that draw on local experiences and materials. That's the current challenge that the training and curriculum developers are addressing.

5E.      [In our health program we address] … the priorities in the country & of the Ministry of Public Health: immunization, personal and environmental hygiene, safe motherhood & birth preparedness, TB, family planning, first aid, diarrhea, malaria, and an introductory unit on germs & infections.

5F.      …I know that there has been a very active landmine education program in primary and secondary schools -- and a couple of people are trying to find out if these materials have been used in literacy classes. [We have discussed…] trying to get these materials (including a chart and a simple booklet on mine education and avoidance) to distribute to the village learning centers, where learners are clamoring for more reading materials.

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6. Empowerment of Women

Questions:

These women seem to be strong and resilient. Do they see themselves as strong and resilient? Can you speak to their self image? How do they see themselves? The literacy program looks like a great thing for the Afghan women. I found Lisa's comment (posted on Nov 22nd) on the positioning of the program as "health education and literacy classes" particularly interesting. I was wondering if any of these women are viewed to be more educated than those not attending the program and if they have experienced any adverse consequences as a result? Besides quoting the Qu'ran, what other methods do you use to overcome the cultural obstacles? You mention that the classes are separated by gender; the problem is that they don't live in separate societies. Is there any attempt to allow the women to demonstrate their new sense of power that they have gained from their education? What is being done to help the women who want to become teachers, doctors, engineers, etc? After they finish the literacy program, will/are these women able to continue with their schooling and learn the profession they want?

Discussion:

6A.      … being able to read, write, and calculate can give these women the strength and ability to act - to someday effect change within their communities. They become great role models for their children. They have the potential to change their future. That, in itself, is pretty powerful. I guess it depends on how you define power. If literacy is enabling these women to help their families and their community, then providing an opportunity for them to learn everything they can is pretty powerful I think.

[M]y interviews showed that women found that being able to read, write and calculate gave them a sense of independence. Some said that after years of feeling invisible in the cities, they felt as if they were now visible and able to negotiate the city. I agree that literacy alone does not equal power; however, being able to read, write, and calculate can give these women the strength and ability to act-to someday effect change within their communities. They become great role models for their children. People will effect change only if they see a need for it. Prior to becoming literate, are we assuming that these women were not strong or effective? I can't and don't make that assumption. In fact, in a number of Indian villages and slums (I believe Lalita Ramdas also had an article about this in the 1990s), literacy was seen as useful ONLY if it was linked to employment. Literacy is as powerful as the people who acquire it see it to be. A number of women I've talked to said they felt the need to be literate when they moved to the city slums from their villages. So, whilst I see literacy as the first step towards awareness and a necessary tool for development, sometimes it can be hard convincing everyone that it is, especially if they don't see a direct need for it. I visited a Khan's house in Pakistan. It was a wealthy household with a huge house, lots of land and three generations living under the same roof. The difference between the men and women, in terms of clothes, health, hygiene and education, was marked. The girls were obviously being kept until they were married off. The men went to the nearest city and wore fancy clothes and had impeccable hairdos with gel etc. The young boys were driven to the city school. The girls [stayed] at home. It has taken years to convince this family to build a school (in the back near the buffalo shed) for the girls living in that compound!!

6B.      Many families are very supportive of the women who attend the classes; they see the value of the women's participation in the classes. They would like to see the basic literacy courses extended. Other families wonder what the economic benefit of attending classes will be. The staff found that some of the women, in the areas where carpet weaving brings in income, have faced resistance from family members because they don't see the value of this type of education. Other family members, however, have helped them to go to class. The women in the more conservative southern provinces face an altogether different scenario. Security is a real concern; the organizations running the program, the women learners, and the trainers have the potential of facing adverse consequences just because they promote the education of women. In one province, the literacy organization runs 5 separate facilitator trainings in homes rather than one large facilitator training in the provincial capital, as is done in the other provinces. This is done for security concerns; the women can't be seen as working for a non governmental organization.

6C.      Separate societies: Having spent time in our projects in the NWFP of Pakistan, a social structure very similar to Afghani society, I have learned a lot about separate societies. For the first time, in market places, I saw no women. In most agrarian societies, the informal economy is run by women, whereas in lots of the NWFP, even market vendors were men. Whilst driving through some congested areas, I was asked to cover my face even when sitting in a moving car. One of the reasons that girls are not allowed to come to school is because either the teacher is a male or there are no loos for girls, or if girls and boys have to sit next to one another. Separate societies exist, and quite happily. It took me a little getting used to but once I understood the degree to which purdah worked both ways (e.g. a North American friend of mine, married to a Pathan man who lives now in Pakistan, apologized for not inviting me to her home as it would embarrass her husband.), it was easier to accept the separate societies. I also found that this style of life (and I refuse to call it conservatism because that would imply that the life I lead is "liberal" or "free" in a different sense) fascinating, the politics, the hierarchy, the power wielded by women and the control they exert from behind their veil and mud walls.

"Demonstrate the sense of power": In working with women in South Asia, the sense of power from education i.e. being able to read, write and calculate, is often a personal one. It is seen as a personal victory, as if "they were suddenly gifted vision", and "..despite having wings, being able to fly unafraid for the first time". I think power manifests itself in subtle ways. Breaking the house is one way, expanding the house, another.

6D.      Literacy alone does not equal power, or else why would we have Mom's taxi, the overworked daughter-in-law in Indian middle class families, and the overworked woman in middle class families all over the world. What I still find surprising is that the women's movement across the world has made strides, but we don't have a similar movement for men.

Women's movements tend to exclude men. Western feminist movements have typically done so and the term gender is used in lieu of or often referring to women/girls/females. In the Third world, my experience of feminist movements or movements for social change was a real eye opener. Women, especially poor women, had no desire to exclude men from their efforts towards equity. The notion that the sexes are different is accepted, but equal is not. The same women who taught me about the difference between education and literacy explained their perceptions of equity and equality. What they looked for was equity, or fairness regardless of their gender. Equality was a completely different issue to them. In their eyes, no social change would ever endure unless they included their men, young and old. Hence, they preferred to have young men as tutors, as social interpreters and with delicate negotiations (I learned a lot about diplomacy in my years in the slums) they earned the support of the older men as well. In a different example, in one of our projects in the Himalayan foothills, , I've seen women and men as healers, as teachers, as parents, and a number of them attend life skills classes to share everything from childbirth to cooking, farming and market work as well as administering the village school in between. Aside from the research I found in the 1990s , my own observations after living in the US and France showed me that with so-called liberation and 'equality', the division of labour between men and women, had not changed; women just found additional work and labour attached to their already considerable (traditional) workload.

The point I am making is that for lasting social change, men have to be included in any movement. Whether they need a separate movement for this, I don't know. But whilst I see some difference in male roles, I still see a majority of our work roles, salaries earned, who stays at home being decided in a traditional manner.

I am not saying there were no valid reasons for a women's movement to be exclusive. I just found what I learned when I returned to India for that prolonged length of time fascinating, turning all my theoretical work in the US on its head. It opened my eyes to the spectrum of what is power, empowerment, social change, equity and equality.

6E.      In the Literacy and Community Empowerment Program in rural villages, girls and women are taking a more active role in community activities. Some of the participants in literacy classes are members of the women's community development council, using their new literacy skills to help with the CDC business -- writing minutes, developing a community development plan, and developing proposals for infrastructure improvement projects. In some villages (more than half), the women's council works very closely with the men's council - they consult together on decisions affecting the village. I assume that the next time CDC elections are held, women who have been in the literacy classes will be more likely to be considered for a seat on the council. Also, from my recent field visits, I know that several women village teachers were candidates in the recent parliamentary elections. 6F. It's difficult to generalize. I've seen cases where women who are not literate, but are seen as extremely wise. Often, these women can act as social mobilisers to get communities and women mobilized into participating in development. I've had women who, even after an education, are happy to make rotis and not venture out of their homes. They have the potential to change their future to what they see as powerful, as valid as relevant to their society.

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7. Women's Customs

Questions:

For many of us, who are not used to wearing or seeing the Burqa on a daily basis, seeing the way Afghani women covered themselves during the Taliban regime was difficult. We have also heard that in many parts of Afghanistan, women continue to wear the full Burqa. For many of us who are not used to wearing the Burqa, we feel as if it is a women's right issue not to wear one, and yet we also know that there are women who prefer to wear it. I was curious how/if this gets carried out in the classroom? Are the communities pretty homogeneous in their wearing of the Burqa, so if you visit a female classroom, you will either see most/all wearing it, or not, depending on the community? Do the teachers by and large reflect the community too? If not, is there discussion in the classroom, discomfort, disagreement, etc. between those who do wear it and those who don't? When I am talking about the Burqa, I am hopefully using the right term for the complete covering from head to toe, with the exception of netting for the eyes. Even my description is vague because I am going by my memory of pictures that I have seen. Perhaps this is more of an issue for women like me in the US who are not used to covering up, and it is not such an issue for women in your classes? I wonder if women in your classes talk about the images of US/European women who do not cover up, and in fact often dress very scantily. Perhaps this is an issue for discussion with them, just like the Burqa is with some of us in the States? I was wondering if you know if female circumcision is widespread in Afghanistan? And, if it is, is this something that health literacy classes could/do cover in terms of at least encouraging women who believe in performing this ritual to use hygienic methods? Or, is this a topic that is considered too sacred to address?

Discussion:

7A.    I've seen women with sexy lingerie and make up like Hollywood stars (who are quite adored in the sub continent) under their burqas and I've had colleagues (Irani and Afghani) who asked me why I thought their burqas made our American and French colleagues uncomfortable. The strange thing is for all this talk of power, there have been, and still are, quite a few women in politics in South Asia and not as many in say Europe or America. I don't of course see this as an indicator of the disempowerment of American women, but it is curious! I may not have answered your question, but then I don't think there is a simple answer to it.

7B.      I wish I could send some photos of the many different ways that women dress here in Afghanistan. Yes, the burqa is still worn by some women -- less so here in Kabul than in other parts of the country, but even here many women do wear the flowing blue (sometimes white) garments that cover them fully. In Kabul it is not uncommon to see women together on the street who are clearly friends but who dress differently -- one in a burqa, one in a long skirt with long jacket and a large shawl covering her head, and another in pants and jacket with a stylish scarf loosely covering her hair. In my limited experience, there are many reasons that some women do wear the burqa. In some of the very rural villages where I've visited and talked with women, there is pressure from the local commander and/or religious leaders. There may be pressure from family members. Sometimes, women tell me they are more comfortable wearing it. And some women don't wear it. I've never pressed the issue, as I feel it is not my role to challenge.

When I was in the Sayghan district of Bamian province, I saw few women in burqas. In the Parwan province, I see many women in burqas. Religious conservativism is certainly one influence. Another may be the level of education and/or class. I'm not knowledgeable enough to speak with any authority. I do know, however, that some of our staff (who are educated) in rural areas do wear the burqa in public, in part to do their work more easily in the villages, and for some out of tradition, pressure, or belief.

Once I was in a village about an hour north of Kabul meeting with the women's shura or community council. The room, in a family compound, was full of women and children -- and there was a pile of burqas in the corner. I asked how they could identify their own garment -- they all looked alike -- and they laughed - and showed me the individual stitchery they each had made on their own, a mark that identifies the owner. In the back of the room there was a poster on the wall of a beautiful (uncovered) Indian woman movie star. They saw me looking at the poster, and they told me "oh yes, she's our idol, and all of the young women want to be like her." So .....who knows what is ahead.

In the women's literacy classes that I am familiar with, all of the women cover their hair. Because it is an all-female environment, if anyone has worn a burqa to the class, it is shed the moment she walks in the door. But often the class is close enough to home that women don't wear them. I don't know if the teachers (who are residents of the villages where they teach) and learners ever discuss Western women -- probably they do after someone like me leaves! - but I'm always dressed appropriately (head covered, though I often take off my scarf once inside). In cities where there is access to television, I know the topic must come up. I'll ask some of the staff and get back to you.

For me, the issue is not what women are wearing, but what they are thinking and doing. I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to get to know rural Afghan women who are working hard to educate themselves, improve their communities, and hold their families together. In my experience, they usually have a great sense of humor, a high degree of resiliency, and a lot of fortitude.

7C.      ...these women wore very colorful clothing- some wore head coverings, many did not, most all wore longer flowing dresses. I believe one woman wore slacks. It was clear they were dressing for Western convention and travel, but still within the conventions of their personal taste and choice combined with Muslim convention.

7D.      Female circumcision, to my knowledge, isn't practiced here. I checked with a colleague who works in a hospital and I do know that this topic isn't mentioned in any Ministry of Public Health documents. One of our units does include a section on hygiene and menstruation. We have found that women are interested in learning about family planning, other such topics. The difficulty is sometimes in convincing the folks who stay in Kabul that women in villages are ready and willing to talk about these topics.

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8. Violence Against Women

Questions:

. . . this past October, I did a presentation for 10 Afghani women who had been hosted by ITD (Institute for Training and Development) in Amherst, MA to learn more about literacy teaching (in general, not only for women). WE LEARN did a presentation on women's literacy issues and resources. I only spent a few hours with them and wished I could have more time to learn more from them. They were both administrators and service-providers. The 10 women were from various NGOs -- several they had founded on their own -- as well as Afghani governmental organizations. Many served women only, but generally in the contexts of family and community. (Lisa's earlier observation that women's issues are raised within general contexts of health, etc. seemed true of this group.) They were particularly aware of women's issues, especially health concerns...and they were all eager and hungry to learn about whatever tools and resources for literacy teaching they could get during their 3 week stay in the U.S. . . During the opening introductions of the workshop, I asked each woman to introduce herself and her organization and to discuss how women and literacy issues intersect and how and what women's issues surface in the work they do. A number of issues emerged -- somewhat comparative to the issues that surface for women in literacy programs in the US (disease & health, economic development, pregnancy & childbirth, family support, etc.). But there was one significant difference. Inevitably, when this group of questions gets raised in a US context, what bubbles to the top with most frequency are the effects of domestic, sexual, and community violence on women's access to education and their ability to concentrate or stay engaged in learning situations. This was not the case among the women in the Afghan group I worked with. In fact, violence of any kind was mentioned only once and very much in passing -- which I find extremely curious given the continuous state of war in Afghanistan and women's lives under Taliban. I wondered if this was so because violence is so "normalized" (as Jenny Horsman might say) to the point where it's not discussed or even identified as an issue? or simply too painful to discuss?? So, finally, my question to Brenda...in your experience in working with women, do they talk about violence? or how do you see it affecting their learning? I know you can't speak for these 10 women and I don't want to generalize, but can you offer some perspective on this? As I say, violence so often surfaces in many conversations and writings about women's literacy and it was the absence of these issues in the discussion with this particular group of Afghan women that startled me.

Discussion:

8A.      Yesterday, over lunch with eight women who are teacher trainers, I had the opportunity to ask a few questions. We were discussing rural economic development, having just come out a session where they were planning and practicing a workshop for new village literacy teachers on the objectives of LCEP (Literacy and Community Empowerment). I asked if they thought rural women would say that lack of money is the most important issue for them as women. Absolutely not, they said. The biggest issue is women's human rights - the right not to be married off at 11 or 12; the right to not be abused or beaten; the right to education; the right not to have 12 children. This led us into a discussion of the recent local conference on eliminating violence against women, in which one staff person had participated. The issues are becoming a little different for educated women in Kabul, she said. She said that in addition to the 'usual' ways in which violence is perpetrated against women by men, some women at this conference were talking about the rise in what she called 'psychological' violence that women use against each other. She gave the example of one very highly placed government official who said that since she has been appointed, women have turned against her, are jealous of her, and are undermining her efforts. Overall, the conference was focused on establishing some common goals and strategies for raising awareness and educating women and men about violence against women. There was participation by key Ministries - such those of Women's Affairs, Social and Labor Affairs, Health, Education, Higher Education, Finance, and the Haj - as well as by the Human Rights Commission and international and national NGOs. While each group committed to developing specific strategies, there were several recommendations - such as using the Women's Affairs centers in each province to hold awareness-raising and strategy workshops at the provincial level; and to establish national regulations for registering engagements (as important as the marriage itself) - to protect very young women. And, to expand the number (currently only 4 : one in Kabul and 3 in the provinces) of shelters for women. Some of the documents from the conference will be translated into English, and if I'm still here when they are made available, I will try to share them.

8B.      I asked a Western friend who speaks good Dari to share her experiences with Afghans (and women in particular) talking about violence in their lives. Here are some excerpts from what she had to say:

"In terms of violence against women, all I can tell you is it happens and most people know and don't question it."

"I was talking to a group of folks last night and the topic of violence came up. Killing is violence - but beating is not considered violence. Beating is considered part of educating and ensuring good behavior. Interestingly, about 2 years ago, there was study that showed that beating is conducted by 90% of formal school teachers."

"Once I was privy to an odd conversation. I was in the back seat driving around the roads of Bamiyan and the Hazara driver was speaking with an Easterner who had gone to the West. "I hear that they don't beat their wives in America". The returnee said, "It's true-- even some students take their teachers to court if there is any suspicion that the teachers have even touched them." Said the driver, "That's awful. People lose their values when they go to the West."

"There was a woman who was going home in the early evening in Macrorayan (the big area of Soviet-built apartment blocks in Kabul). A taxi was speeding and hit her. After all the uproar they got the woman out from under the car. She told the taxi driver 'if only you would have been going faster and killed me because it is better that I were dead, than go home late and get beating from my husband for being so late.'"

"Also I was told about a man who killed his wife. He found she was a "woman" not "a daughter" after they married and so he killed her on the second day of marriage. He strangled her."

"Once we had a Gender Training for people in our program. And of the 1 million 3 hundred thousand trainings we have had, this was the most compelling I have ever witnessed. People were so heated and there was so much back and forth. We started out by addressing stereotypes. We got in groups and each group had to fill in the blank.
An Afghan man is...
An Afghan woman is. . .
An Afghan man should be.. .
An Afghan woman should be . . .

"In the Afghan men's group the answers were 'He is …..hospitable ……kind….. faithful……loyal fights for his country …….fights against colonialism. This came from the men.. The women in the group said...He is …..cruel……beats his wife……..steps on the rights of women."

8C.      A follow up comment to my post from earlier today: I have a copy of a booklet (in Dari) that was distributed at the eliminating violence conference, about women (around the world, in Afghanistan, women's issues). It is a joint publication, I think, of UNFPA, the government of Afghanistan, and Women Without Borders (and maybe more organizations - I can't read the Dari). It contains some great illustrations. The one on the cover is of three women standing on a globe (with symbols of women's work/contributions - books, pots, a stethoscope, a scythe). They are holding their arms up toward the sky --Two of the three are wearing hijab, or scarves, and the third does not have her hair covered. The title translates something roughly like the old slogan 'women hold up half the sky' -- I love it! And -- one more note -- inside the booklet there is a map of the world, with pictures of notable women from various places in the world. The one woman pictured from the US is Rosa Parks. I love it!

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I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for a rich discussion on Afghanistan and literacy with a special emphasis on women. Specifically, I would like to thank:

• Brenda Bell and her colleagues for taking time out of their busy days in Afghanistan to share with us vital information and to answer our many questions. Brenda had to juggle power outages, work deadlines and a sickness while guest facilitating. Her efforts, insights, and dedication to an important cause are very much appreciated.
• Members of the listserv who posted, for sharing and asking important and sometimes difficult to ask questions.
• Lurkers who did not post, but faithfully read each and every post and reflected on what Brenda and her colleagues wrote, along with other listserv posters wrote.
• David Rosen for suggesting that I contact Brenda to ask her if she would be willing to guest facilitate.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Daphne Greenberg, Women and Literacy List Facilitator

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