Stealth Sisters

Posted by Barbara on December 18, 2023 in Black lives matter, Blog, Education, feminism, Human rights, Living today, Women's equality issues | 2 comments

One of the worst aspects of the UK and US withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan in 2021 was, in my view, the sudden and abrupt end to secondary education for girls across the country.  There were so many heartfelt testimonials from young women who overnight were no longer allowed to attend school or university, and whose hopes and aspirations to contribute to society were dashed.

I had a good education, as did my daughter, and her 4-year-old niece has just finished her first term in Reception. All three of us have benefited or are benefiting from a society where this particular battle has been won, and there are no barriers to how much education we wish to pursue.  If I want to start a Master’s with the Open University next year, there may be financial obstacles, but no political or cultural ones.

Earlier this year one of our close friends had a ‘special birthday’ in a smart setting in London.  We guests were firmly requested not to give her presents, but if we wished to, give a donation to a charity she supports that aims to improve education for girls in Africa: CAMFED  is a pan-African, grassroots-led movement tackling poverty, inequality and injustice through girls’ education and women’s leadership. Their focus is on vulnerable girls and young women in rural areas of Africa. This is where girls face acute disadvantage, and where unlocking their power will have a transformative impact.

They note that a girl excluded from school becomes a woman excluded from all sectors of society. She has no choice or say over her own body, her future, or the future of her family. She is excluded from taking part in professions or decision-making bodies that affect her life and well-being, and her society at large.  Girls’ education is the foundation for women’s leadership — and this world desperately needs more women leaders, contributing to more equitable policies and addressing the structural inequalities that are keeping girls and young women from reaching their full potential.

I take my hat off and open my purse to CAMFED and salute what they are doing, and it didn’t take the likes of Sherlock Holmes to discover similar work being done to help young women’s access to education in Afghanistan. Sahar was created in 2001 after the fall of the Taliban to support girls’ education, building schools, training teachers and empowering young women to make their own choices.  Now that the Taliban are back in power and girls are forbidden from going to school after the 6^th grade, Sahar are developing programmes in areas such as literacy, IT and coding. Their aim is to provide some form of continuity for older girls who had started their secondary education, and to build a bridge for younger girls who are coming to the end of their primary schools with no further educational prospects.

One of Sahar’s programmes is entitled ‘Stealth Sisters’. In October of this year, 20 such ‘sisters’ graduated, in secret:  young women who will go on to develop their learning and skills to further empower their futures.

It breaks my heart that they have to study in secret, but it so gladdens my heart to know it is happening.