Defiant Brilliance: Afghan women educate the next generation
Despite being barred from university, women volunteers for a movement called The Bookies are committed to creating a reading culture among Afghan youth.
Since the Taliban took over, life at the hospital where 23-year-old Qamar* works part-time has changed dramatically. As one of the few women able to continue her internship, she counts herself lucky, but only by comparison with younger students forced to abandon their careers altogether. These days, she is no longer allowed to work alongside male doctors, nor pursue her studies to gain the qualifications needed to specialize. But she is not dwelling on these disappointments, nor worrying about her own future at the moment.
When not at the hospital, Qamar gives most of her time to an movement called The Bookies, which encourages Afghan children to read. “It doesn’t matter if I cannot go to university. I will give my full energy to The Bookies and the youth working with us to create a positive and peaceful environment for children,” she says. “They have an uncertain future, but through our sessions, they learn that they can educate themselves by reading and create a new environment built around learning,” she says.
With the Taliban keeping a close watch over the school curriculum and stamping out material that doesn’t align with their strict interpretation of Islam, opportunities for young people to engage with new ideas are limited. Ideas Beyond Borders works with translators across Afghanistan through its House of Wisdom program to bring content on critical thinking, science, and civil rights to readers in Pashto and Dari, the country’s two most widely spoken languages.
“Now more than ever, young people need to know that there is a world beyond Afghanistan,” says Faisal Al Mutar, President of Ideas Beyond Borders. “That’s why IBB supports multiple movements that provide access to reading materials for young people, from libraries and underground schools to lessons and workshops designed to support a love of learning through the written word.”
Qamar hopes to achieve this with The Bookies, which aims to inspire a culture of reading in Afghanistan. She joined as a volunteer in 2021 and has since dedicated much of her spare time to helping the group expand its reach across the country. For her, books are a way to empower people to seek new opportunities and gain the confidence to pursue a meaningful life. It’s a belief she wants to share with future generations. “We need to stand together and support one another,” she says.
Volunteers with The Bookies run sessions that teach creative leadership and critical thinking, using books to inspire and illustrate discussions about how children can live their lives positively and peacefully. For the younger classes, this includes coloring, games, and drawing activities based on different themes such as peace and community. Older groups engage in role plays and discussions designed to encourage creativity, build confidence, and develop their capacity to think critically about the information they read and hear.
With support from an Ideas Beyond Borders Innovation Hub grant, The Bookies has launched a new project running programs in Kabul, Herat, and Ghazni. Each program consists of six sessions with activities tailored to age groups aged seven to 13. “These children are the future of Afghanistan, and we want to inspire them with new ideas. We haven’t lost hope. That’s why we are focusing on the next generation because we still have hope,” Qamar says.
*Ideas Beyond Borders uses pseudonyms to protect the identities of our grantees in Afghanistan
This article was written by Olivia Cuthbert.