As women’s rights have been wound back, one teenager and her friends have found a way to study.
When the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan two years ago, Ameena was shattered that girls were no longer allowed to study at high school.
Ameena, whose name has been changed because of the danger if she were to be identified, has found a way to study even at the risk of punishment by Taliban hardliners. She and about 25 other teenage girls and young women are members of an underground book club. “My great ambition is to become a businesswoman and to provide education for Afghan women and other ones that are not able to continue their education,” she said in exemplary English that she has learnt from books and YouTube videos in the past three years.
“Access to books is absolutely vital for their growth in imagination, curiosity and education,” said chief executive Andrew Kay, who started the foundation in 2011. “They’re really restricted in their choice of books, so we’re hoping to open up the floodgates.”
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