The young Afghan girl who was forced to drop out of school, but who doesn’t want to give up on education

Mursal Fasihi, 17, still can’t believe he won’t be able to go back to school. Fasihi, like all girls of secondary school age, cannot return to the classroom due to the rules imposed by the Taliban in the country.

“It is not right that they decide for us, that they order us to go with a mahram [un compañero masculino]that we should hide our faces and stop going to school,” she explains, alluding to a series of regulations that in practice restrict the participation of women and girls in public life.

The last time Fasihi saw the inside of a school was when he sat for his 11th grade final exam in July 2021. A month later, the Taliban swept through Afghanistan, a reconquest that ended with the fall of Kabul on August 15.

“I miss my friends, my teachers and my school”

Some of his friends were able to leave Afghanistan and are now continuing their education abroad. “I miss my friends, my teachers and my school so much. My school used to be a great place, but now I can’t go,” she says.

His dream of becoming a doctor is now uncertain, but his desire is not extinguished. To occupy her free time while still feeling productive, Fasihi joined the Youth Peer Educator Network (Y-PEER), a regional initiative run by and for youth, supported by the United Nations reproductive health agency, the United Nations Population Fund.

The Network intends that young people acquire the necessary skills to face the challenges that lie ahead. Fasihi joined a training session last July and is now one of 25 Y-PEER trainers in Afghanistan.

The training helped him understand the various problems that young Afghans face in their daily lives. As a young woman educated in Kabul, she did not realize how many girls, especially those living in poverty or in remote areas, suffer from negative experiences such as early marriage and teenage pregnancy.

An unprecedented rise in poverty

The unprecedented increase in poverty, as a result of the economic crisis that occurred with the return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan, brought the debate on these issues to the fore. The desperation of many families prompted them to marry off their young daughters, freeing themselves from the responsibility of their care and protection.

“It’s sad because How can a child bring another child into this world and raise him?” he pointed. “At our age, we are just children. We should be studying, aiming for big goals. The time to get married is not yet here.”

Waiting for the storm clouds to pass

Although the desire to receive a formal education remains suspended indefinitely, being a peer educator gives her meaning and purpose.

In addition to teaching young women about the dangers of early marriage and teen pregnancy, she shares her hope for a better future.

“When the clouds roll by, we’ll see a bright sunrise“, he said to UNFPA.

“I hope the girls don’t give up. It’s normal to be scared, it’s okay to cry, but giving up can’t be an option. I hope they continue to learn in any way possible. Hopefully someone will help us, or the schools will reopen,” she explained.