Teacher’s Day is a day to honor those who keep the lamp of knowledge lit. This year, however, I want to write about teachers who are seen less often: teachers who are, in fact, students themselves, but who, because girls are barred from attending school, voluntarily teach other students as well.
The Reality in Afghanistan Today
For now, Afghanistan is the only country in the world where girls and women are barred from attending secondary school and university. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), 2.4 million girls are currently deprived of secondary education. If the ban continues, this figure will approach four million by 2030.
This crisis has not only affected students but has also kept teachers out of schools. According to a report by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the number of female teachers fell from 73,000 to 66,000 in just two years. It is projected that by 2030, about 20,000 more female teachers will be removed from the education system, because the girls who should become tomorrow’s teachers are not allowed to study today. The monthly salary of many female teachers has also dropped to about 5,000 afghanis (roughly $70), a sum that cannot even support a very small family. The outcome is clear: a generation with neither schools nor teachers.
The Reality of Volunteer Teachers
I am the founder of the Behdukht Online Academy. Behdukht is a free, volunteer-run school that began in 2023 with five students and today teaches more than 200 girls, from grade seven to grade twelve, across 12 provinces of Afghanistan through WhatsApp. No one at Behdukht receives a salary.
Under such conditions, finding volunteer teachers is very difficult. Teachers have families and are also the breadwinners of those families, and one cannot expect someone struggling with poverty and unemployment to teach for hours without pay.
But the problem is not only bread; it is also fear. In Afghanistan today, teaching girls is not a risk-free act. Many teachers worry about their own safety and that of their families, and they fear serious consequences if they are identified. For this reason, many of those who want to teach do not dare to come forward, and those who do come forward often teach anonymously and in secret.
Nevertheless, despite all these difficulties and dangers, our volunteer teachers generously give their time and knowledge to these girls. Their courage is no less than that of any hero.
When Students Become Teachers
But at Behdukht there is another truth that I want to share with the world: today, about 75 percent of the lessons are taught by the students themselves. A girl in grade twelve teaches grades seven, eight, nine, and ten. A grade eight student tries to help grade seven. A girl whose English is a little better holds English classes for the lower grades.
These girls work with the barest of resources. The internet in Afghanistan is expensive and unstable. Therefore, lessons are sent through voice messages, short videos, and written notes in WhatsApp groups, and students send their homework back to the group. Their classroom is a mobile phone, but their determination is taller than any school wall.
Still, Hope Is Alive
The result of these efforts is hope. Some Behdukht students are now continuing their higher education at online universities, and others are on the path to the same dream. Schools are closed to the girls of Afghanistan. But what do these girls do? Each of them has become a candle to light the way of education for other girls. They teach one another, give one another hope, and wait for the day when the school gates open to them again.
On this Teacher’s Day, I bow in respect before all the teachers of Afghanistan who still teach under the harshest conditions, before the volunteer teachers of Behdukht, and before the students who became teachers themselves. You have proven that knowledge cannot be imprisoned.
Behdukht: a voice that cannot be silenced.
You can read the Persian version of this article here:
معلمان محروم از مکتب؛ روایتی از «آکادمی آنلاین بهدخت» در روز معلم
