Home-based school in Kandahar City. © 2005 Human Rights Watch/Zama Coursen-Neff.
Home-based school in Kandahar City. © 2005 Human Rights Watch/Zama Coursen-Neff.

In the first three years there were a lot of girl students-everyone wanted to send their daughters to school. For example, in Argandob district [a conservative area], girls were ready, women teachers were ready. But when two or three schools were burned, then nobody wanted to send their girls to school after that.

-Woman representative on Kandahar's provincial council, December 11, 2005.


After reading this letter, I along with my family decided not to go to school because those who are warning us are quite powerful and strong. We are ordinary people and we can not challenge them. Also I asked the girls from my village not to go back to school. . . .All the girls from my village would really like to attend that school. . . but the problem is security-what will happen if they really plant bombs on our way? That's the reason.

-Former teacher, Laghman province, June 7, 2005.


The Taliban "went to each class, took out their long knives . . . locked the children in two rooms [where they] were severely beaten with sticks and asked, 'will you come to school now?'" The teachers said that they were taken out of school. The Taliban asked them individually, "Why are you working for Bush and Karzai?" They said, "We are educating our children with books-we know nothing about Bush or Karzai, we are just educating our children." After that they were cruelly beaten and let go."

-Education official from Maruf district, Kandahar province, describing how the Taliban shut down his school in June 2004, speaking to Human Rights Watch on December 9, 2005. All schools in the district closed down that year.


I saw these two men. . . One of them fired a full magazine in Laghmani's chest. . . . I was afraid for my life and hid around a corner. I did not know who the victim was. After the killers fled, I went to the gate and saw Laghmani lying dead. . . . It was awful. . . . We have been receiving night letters, but no one thought they would really kill a teacher!

-Eyewitness describing how on December 14, 2005, two men on a motorbike shot and killed a teacher at the gate of the school where he taught, in Zarghon village in Nad Ali district, Helmand province, speaking to Human Rights Watch on December 21, 2005.


I said, "Please don't include Helmand province in your target areas because we will have to hire staff two times: we will send staff and they will be killed." This is not a joke. We cannot take charge of working there. This is the main place where the Taliban operates.

-Staff of an Afghan NGO that has weathered serious security problems explaining why he urged the coordinator of a joint NGO program not to expand the program to Helmand, speaking with Human Rights Watch on December 15, 2006.



While culture is an issue, security is more important because even those people who want to break tradition are not able to.

-Member of a women's group in Kandahar city, December 8, 2005.


I was a first grade teacher at [name withheld] Primary School for girls. . . . Last November [2004], I was walking with girls towards school, and on our way I found a letter. . . . It was a clear threat to me and all students going to that school. It said [in Pashto]: "To all girl students and school teachers who are teaching in girls' schools! We warn you to stop going to school, as it is a center made by Americans. Anyone who wants to go to school will be blown up. To avoid such a death, we warn you not to go to school."

After reading this letter, I along with my family decided not to go to school because those who are warning us are quite powerful and strong. We are ordinary people and we can not challenge them. Also I asked the girls from my village not to go back to school. . . .All the girls from my village would really like to attend that school. . . but the problem is security-what will happen if they really plant bombs on our way? That's the reason.

-Former teacher, Laghman province, June 7, 2005.



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