Report - United States Department of Defense

UNCLASSIFIED
The education system has expanded to provide vocational training to young adults and literacy
training to Afghans of all ages. More than 27,000 students are enrolled at 62 Afghan government
Technical and Vocational Education and Training schools, which is an increase of approximately
11,000 students and 14 schools from the prior school year. A number of issues remain that
impact access to and quality of basic education, including: the absence of textbooks and school
supplies for multiple content areas the lack of infrastructure in some locations; and the demand
for more trained education staff.
The Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) continues to face a shortage of space (i.e.,
classrooms, labs, dorm facilities), qualified instructors, and student program options, and faces a
youth bulge as Afghan secondary-school graduates continue to increase annually and are
projected to continue for the next 10 years. Although progress has been made, the pace of
material acquisition, recruitment of teachers, and support operations for schools must increase in
order for MoHE to be at the necessary level of capacity and capability to improve and maintain
an effective education system.
The focus on education by Afghan families varies throughout the country and by tribe. When
families do not fully understand and accept education as a right as outlined in Afghan law, males
not enrolled in school will be more vulnerable to illegal activities, and the implications are even
starker for women and girls as they continue to be marginalized and deprived of opportunities. In
the past, insurgents have used education as a weapon against the people. When the insurgents
terrorized communities and blocked access to education to leverage control, they threatened the
stability and security of the area. The reporting of death threats to teachers for delivering
instruction and to parents for sending their children to school, and the exercise of force to close
schools, negated progress made by the village, district, or provincial education leaders and
development of the future of Afghanistan.
4.5: WOMEN IN AFGHANISTAN 38
Overall, circumstances for Afghan women and girls have improved significantly since 2001;
gains remain tenuous, however, and civil society organizations are concerned progress will be
reversed and rights bargained away in the peace process. Many Afghan women view a possible
reconciliation process with the Taliban skeptically and with legitimate concerns as to what peace
talks might mean for the progress they have made over the last 11 years. The USG takes these
concerns seriously and recognizes that promoting security for Afghan women and girls must
remain a top foreign policy priority
Women face entrenched societal discrimination and limits to their freedom. Violence against
women is widespread but underreported. Recent ISAF efforts to get Afghan authorities to
respond to complaints by women have resulted in an increase in reporting of such violence.
However, large gaps remain in our understanding of this problem, and major challenges exist in
Afghan attempts to address it.
38 This section, along with the Women in the ANSF section, is submitted consistent with section 1223 of the National Defense Authorization Act
for Fiscal Year 2013.
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