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CNN Sunday Morning

War May Determine Right to Education for Afghan Girls

Aired October 21, 2001 - 09:26   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN ANCHOR: When we talk about the Afghan civil war, it's easy to get caught up in the struggle over real estate. But for a group of young girls in northern Afghanistan, the fight is over whether they will be allowed to learn to read.

CNN'S Matthew Chance has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A girls' school in the Afghan town of Jabal Seraaj. This, a routine lesson in the days of the week. Under the Taliban, even basic female education is banned. In this country's bitter civil war, Afghan fathers are fighting on the front lines for and against this.

This school in the north of the country has been overrun and closed three times by the Taliban. It's now in opposition hands.

"If we weren't at school, we'd have to do housework," Nasifa (ph) told us, "or just pray in the mosque. This way, we get to read."

Here teenagers are reading biology. The facilities are poor, the books outdated; but this is still academic study at a level completely denied to the vast majority of Afghan girls. And ambitions stretch far beyond those envisioned for women by the hard-line leaders of the Taliban.

"We live in a war-ravaged country, and I want to heal the injuries," says Shekaba (ph). "That's why I want to study to become a doctor."

Halbasha (ph) says she wants to be a judge, to dispense justice in a country where she says there are so many problems.

(on camera): For these young girls, Afghanistan's civil war isn't about territory or even power. It's about a basic right to learn, denied by the Taliban. Their status here in the north is far from equal and the standards of education they receive, inadequate. What little they have, these girls and their families say they're willing to fight for.

(voice-over): Gulgadin (ph) has daughters of his own, and has taught Pashtun language and science for 23 years. He's a devout Muslim and a firm believer in female education. The two go hand in hand, he says.

GULGADIN (through translator): The prophet Mohammed said that peace will be upon those who seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave. Learning is incumbent on every man and woman. Our biggest problem, though, is money. The fight against the Taliban is draining our resources.

CHANCE: Getting educated in a country that's been at war for a generation and is mired in poverty is no easy task. But these girls say they're determined to succeed.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Jabal Seraaj, northern Afghanistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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