Introduction
Afghanistan has a population of about 23 million. The country is characterized by political instability and occasional droughts that make it among the poorest country in the world. The country is currently under a new government that took its lead from the Taliban rule which had very low regard for women. The Taliban greatly discriminated against Afghanistan women in terms of access to education and employment opportunities. The severe discrimination of the girl child in Afghanistan has rendered Afghanistan women to stagnate greatly both economically and socially (The Situation of Women in Afghanistan Contributors par.1).).
The research reveals that the level of education in Afghanistan is very low with about only 50% of the Afghanistan men considered literate. Surprisingly, the study indicates that 85% of Afghanistan women are illiterate. The low reflection of education attainment in Afghanistan is mostly associated with a lack of proper governance. The government’s per capita literacy allocation in Afghanistan is the lowest worldwide despite the high illiteracy preferences in the region with a rate of 50% of the Afghanistan men being regarded as illiterate and 85% of women have not achieved any formal education.
The continuous negligence of the Afghanistan girl child in terms of access to education and employment opportunities is likely to widen the current disparity in education between men and women in the region to a situation where women in Afghanistan will be considered as a second-class status in some years to come. The Afghanistan government does not seem to realize the consequences of its doing as the region even to date is characterized by very few girls’ schools.
The girl’s school enrollment is less than 50% that of boys. Despite the low girl’s enrollment recorded, there is noted an improvement in the girls’ enrollment as the situation was worse during the Taliban reign, but with its collapse, the current Afghanistan government is doing something positive to remedy the situation. There is much more that is needed to be done to solve the current problem of high illiteracy and lack of employment opportunities for women in Afghanistan (Head par.6).
Discrimination of women in Afghanistan
The women in Afghanistan require to be empowered economically, politically, and their access to education opportunities being amplified. As the new prime minister of Afghanistan, I will do my best to ensure that I address the current business that is prevalent in the region in terms of women’s access to education, employment, and political participation adequately. I will ensure that appropriate policies are enacted and follow them to ensure that they are implemented accordingly.
The policies should advocate fair and equal access to education for all. To guarantee that they are implemented, I would alliance with the ministers in charge of finance and education and ensure more schools are built and proportionately shared between boys and girls. Through this process, the high illiteracy that is present in Afghanistan will greatly reduce. Similarly, I will enact appropriate policies that allow fair and equal employment opportunities for both men and women in Afghanistan.
These employment policies will ensure that those Afghanistan women that are educated are not discriminated against in employment opportunities. Access to employment opportunities will greatly help the Afghanistan women be empowered economically. Moreover, as the prime minister, I would recommend enacting proper policies that ensure that a certain percentage of Afghanistan women are included in the government senior positions such as being ministers or heads of certain government offices. Once they are empowered economically they will be in a better position to support their families accordingly and particularly the widowed women. They will also be in a better position to actively participate politically since they will be more informed.
Proposed Recommendations
The likely challenge that I may experience in my venture is the resistance of the Afghanistan men and especially those in authority to support my proposed policy of ensuring that the Afghanistan leadership should be comprised of a certain representation of women. To overcome the resistance, I would seek support from relevant bodies such as religious leaders and from the activist groups to help me in supporting my enacting the policy.
Conclusion
Good governance and access to education and employment opportunities will greatly empower Afghanistan women and help them participate in Afghanistan politics.
Works Cited
Head, Tom. “Afghanistan: Women Still Subject to Widespread Oppression, Discrimination.” 2006. Web.
“The Situation of Women in Afghanistan Contributors.” 2002.Web.