A 21st Century Struggle for Civil Rights
An International Fight for Girls’ Education is Unfolding in the Middle East and Africa
by Sylvan Bachhuber, age 14
Across the Middle East and Africa one of the great civil
rights struggles of our generation is being fought. Young girls are on
the front lines.
For centuries, girls from around the
world have had to struggle for their right to an education. The same
struggle to end educational inequality in the Middle East and South Asia
is now afoot. And more and more, it’s gaining international attention.
Girls in these areas are fighting ardently for their right to an
education. In some of these areas child marriage is still practiced,
which undermines female education. In Afghanistan and Pakistan, members
of the militant group the Taliban, have ordered an end to the education
of girls. The girls’ vocal response has blossomed into a revolution.
Near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, numerous shootings at
girls school have occurred. One school, located in northern Pakistan,
was blown up by the Taliban. At another school, a principal was shot
and killed and four pupils were brutally injured by a grenade during an
awards ceremony. Last year, Malala Yousafzsai*, an outspoken teenage
girl, was singled out and shot while riding on a Swat Valley school bus
because she wrote a blog advocating the right to attend school. She is
just one of the many advocates who have been targeted by the Taliban.
Similar events are playing out across Africa and the Middle East.
While
visiting a school in Marrakech, Morocco, the education minister of that
African country said, “You! Your time would be better spent looking for
a man!” to 12-year-old Raouia Ayache. She and her family fought against
his orders, angered because he was betraying his obligation to promote
education.
Many people think girls have been hiding books behind
their burqas (traditional Islamic dresses) for too long, and are ready
to fight for their right to an education. The Taliban, “can’t stop us
from going to school. I want to study. I am not afraid,” vowed Kainat
Riaz, a girl who was on the Swat Valley bus the day it was attacked.
“We are strong,” said Shazia Ramzan, another girl on the Swat Valley bus.
To
stand against external pressure, girls in many countries are banding
together, forming “marriage free zones,” areas in which girls have
pledged to support each other in their efforts to stay in school and
resist marriage by force. These communities are helping to give girls
the strength to push against society’s pressure and endure the violence
that has been put upon them. Their dream is to obtain an education.
[Sources:
The New York Times; Associated Press
]
*For more information on Malala Yousafzai read “Pakistan Shooting” by Taylor Kilgore
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