Education International

ATROAfghan Teachers' Rights Observatory

Testimony

Roya, a female teacher in a boys’ school in the Badakhashan province

I am from the Herat province, yet currently I am teaching male students in a school in Badakhshan.

Unfortunately, our educational environment lacks basic facilities and textbooks. Teachers are burdened with 30 hours of dull and monotonous classes daily, with no desks or books available.

The school infrastructure is limited. Economic conditions are challenging for everyone, with teachers receiving little assistance, facing unemployment, and struggling to make ends meet with insufficient livelihood.

Beyond the classroom, families neglect the division of household chores, and students, engaged in work outside school, struggle to focus on their studies.

More Testimonies

Simin, female, has been teaching for 18 years in a primary girls' school in Herat

I became a member of a teacher union because professional representation is crucial. However, our current circumstances are challenging, and I find myself extremely unhappy.

Anonymous, female secondary school teacher, union, and women’s rights activist

I am a former provincial leader of the National Teachers’ Elected Council. At the same time, I have been a women’s rights activist for a long time, advocating for girls’ education and participation of women in different organizations. Due to my engagement with teachers’ union and women’s rights activism, I was one of the most well-known people in my city which put me in imminent danger.

Anonymous

Although the Taliban’s education minister had promised that Afghan teachers’ salaries would increase, there are many problems. The Taliban’s policy of not allowing male teachers to teach girls and female teachers to teach boys has made things worse.