Blog # 8: Despite deadly risks, Afghan girls take brave first step

This article is about is about how girls in Afghanistan are put in harm’s way every day while they are going to school. Some people don’t want these girls to attend school so they do vicious things like throw acid on them and bomb the schools they go to. Not only are they attacked but most of the time they are abused within their own homes. Razia Jan has created an education center in Afghanistan which teaches girls from rural areas for free and the main goal is to stop women from growing up illiterate like many of the women are in Afghanistan. Although they face great danger by even going to school, they are still happy to be able to learn every day.  The reason for the high rates of illiterate women in Afghanistan is the fact that men are the ones teaching in schools because they allowed to go to school to get an education and in the Afghan culture it isn't appropriate for a girl to be taught anything by a man. Another reason women are illiterate is because in this country the legal marriage age is 16 and once the girls get married there is a slim chance that their spouse will allow them to go to school. Razia Jan is so passionate about educating the girls in this country that she sometimes goes from house to house asking the parents if it is possible for the marriage to be postponed so that the girl will be able to attend school.

Education is important and I believe that it is good that people like Razia Jan are stepping in and trying to provide girls with an education so that they can have some opportunity to advance in society. It is definitely going to take a lot of work in Afghanistan to get people to allow little girls to attend school without them having to worry about what kind of attack they will be under. Women are inferior in this country and I don’t think that is going to change anytime soon but I do believe that by allowing more and more girls to get an education that eventually women will be able to stand up for themselves. This story can somewhat be related to the US because at one point in history men were the hierarchy of the family and they didn't want women going to school because they felt it wasn't necessary. Although they didn't attack the girls that wanted to go to school they tried to oppress them but in the end girls kept striving and now women have some of the same opportunities that men have. 

http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/26/world/asia/cnnheroes-afghan-schoolgirls/index.html?iref=allsearch

Blog #5: Bringing Music Back to Afghanistan

Bringing Music Back to Afghanistan

The Taliban in Afghanistan banned music because they said that music was sending satanic message to the people. Ahmad Sarmast thought otherwise and decided to found the Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM) with the support of the World Bank. According to the director of the World Bank the reason they support this institute is because they believe that it is teaching the newer generation about the real value of music, as well as, the heritage and culture if their country.  There are about 150 students that attend this music institute that are hoping to accomplish their dreams of being a great musician. Not only does ANIM provide music education in Afghan and Western music but they also offer regular education like math, geography, and language. The institute provides their services to children that are impoverished and living in orphanages because they want to give these children the opportunity to become something great and become a productive part of the society. This quote from the founder Ahmad Sarmast explains how the institute helps these children despite where they came from, “Music can be a strong tool for bringing about social change and development. Music teaches them how to listen to each other, how to communicate with each other, how to respect each other. If they can play in an orchestra, they can live harmoniously in society as well.” Along with this idea the founder as well as other people that support ANIM believe that children learning music is a good thing because it is considered “the international language of peace.”

           

This music institute is a good idea because it not only allows children to get a regular education but it also allows them to pursue something that they are passionate about. It also is a great idea because they are giving children that are in poverty the opportunity to get a good education which they probably would never have to chance to receive. I support this institute because they are teaching the younger generation that no matter what circumstances they were born into that they can follow their dreams, pursue something that they are really passionate about, and become something great when they get older.

This relates to the United States because at one point in history they decided to get rid of music programs in elementary schools which didn’t sit well with parents and the community. Some schools still decided to get rid of the music programs in the elementary schools regardless of the communities protest and now the children are no longer getting to explore if music is their real passion nor are they able to learn about the world’s culture and heritage through music.

http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/2012/09/19/bringing-music-back-afghanistan

Blog 4: Afghani Women Imprisoned for "Moral Crimes"

     The Afghani government has been imprisoning girls and women for so called "moral crimes" however these moral crimes include running from domestic violence, arranged marriages, unsafe relationships, and sex outside of marriage. Women that have been interviewed have said that they felt as though they needed to get away from their marriage. They felt threatened daily and felt unsafe in their own households and because of this they were put in juvenile detention centers. What's more shocking about this story than anything is that the taliban was overthrown ten years ago and women should be treated better today but they are not. Almost nothing has changed for these women in their relationships. There have been significant improvements in women's education, employment, and political standing but these are hard to celebrate when women who go to the police in dire need of help are instead arrested for their "crime" of leaving their abusive husband or relatives. It is technically not illegal for women to flee from abusive relationships but the Afghani Supreme Court have made it clear that women who flee should be treated as criminals and they can punished with up to 15 years in prison. Some women in prison who were interviewed said that if they knew their choices were going to be prison or going home to their husbands, they would just commit suicide. It's surprising how little power these women have in their own relationships. Divorce would be an option if it wasn't so hard for a woman to divorce a man in Afghanistan. A man can simply declare himself divorced while a woman has to go through many obstacles to even be considered for a divorce. Afghanistan feels they have more important issues in their country right now but one of the first things they need to fix is gender inequality.
   
      Living in America, it is very hard to imagine being put in a situation like this. Yes there have been instances in America where women have been forced to stay in a relationship and they feel so threatened that they end up killing their husbands but these are few and far between. Especially because the divorce rate in America is so high, it's hard to imagine being imprisoned from fleeing a violent household. I understand that when a country is in the process of a revolution/recovering from a revolution it will take a while to get everything in order but I agree with the author of this article who said that inequality is one of the most important issues in any country and it needs to be dealt with in order to run any country smoothly. However there are almost no countries in the entire world that show true equality when it comes to gender, socioeconomic status, sexuality, race, ethnicity. The world is a backwards place where the white male is the most important person in the world. This needs to be fixed. No woman should have to choose between imprisonment and an abusive relationship.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/human-rights-watch/afghanistan-hundreds-of-w_b_1384984.html