Supporting Afghan Women and Girls on the Move

          Afghan Girls Living in Turkey

Their dreams are to return to their country and serve.

"Taliban wanted to kidnap us because we were going to school"

 “Girls should not be married at an early age”

Tomorrow, October 11, is International Day of the Girl Child. While millions of girls around the world are dealing with poverty and migration problems, especially girls who cannot go to school in Afghanistan remain on the agenda. The practices of the Taliban regime, unfortunately, do not give positive signals about the future of girls. We asked Afghan girls living in Turkey about their dreams. When the children grow up one day, they want to go to their country and serve if the Taliban leaves power.

“In the village we live in, they used to complain about us to the supporters of the Taliban, saying 'these girls are going to school'. They also pressured us not to go to school. They came and threatened us. They even wanted to come to our house and take us away, our neighbors saved us,” tells Sharbat.

The Afghan girl, who came to Turkey with her family 7 months ago, is only 16 years old, and what she experienced is more than her age. Noting that they could not go to school regularly because of the supporters of the Taliban, Sharbat said that their teachers supported them a lot: “Our teachers were very good. On the days we went to school, they would somehow give extra lectures in case we couldn't come tomorrow. The schools were mixed but the classes were separate. Girls' classes were separate, boys' classes were separate. My favorite subject in school was math. We were happy at school, but after we got out of the school gate, our life became troubled again”.

Stating that they dreamed of the future with their girlfriends despite all the difficulties, Sharbat said, “Our neighbor's daughter, my sister and I would sit down and talk about our dreams. I wanted to be an architect, an engineer, my brother a dentist, and our neighbor's daughter wanted to be a midwife. In the village where we live, they did not take women to the hospital during childbirth, and our friend wanted to be a midwife to help them. We came to Turkey, but we do not know what happened to our friend," she said.

Explaining that she feels safe in Turkey, Sharbat first wants to learn Turkish and enroll in school.  Wishing that education should be made compulsory for girls in Afghanistan, contrary to the current situation, she said, “I want Afghan girls not to get married at an early age as soon as they open their eyes on International Day of the Girl Child. One day when I grow up, if the Taliban is gone, I wish to return to my country and take part in its rebuilding. If I could, I would like to build a school. Let them study not only in cities, but also in rural areas, but not only until secondary school high school, but also at university.”

(Note on family: They have 4 children, they came from Afghanistan after a 1 month of troublesome travel.)

General Coordinator of ASAM, Ibrahim Vurgun Kavlak stated that they have provided many services to refugee children in Turkey within the scope of the Al Farah Child and Family Support Centers Project for Asylum Seekers and Migrant Children, which UNICEF (United Nations Children's Aid Fund) and SGDD-ASAM have been carrying out in cooperation since 2016.Kavlak said, “Since the beginning of the project, we have been striving to create a safe environment for children under temporary and international protection and their families, and to improve their mental, emotional and psychomotor development. During the Al Farah Child and Family Support Centers Project, we enabled nearly 60 thousand girls to participate more strongly in life through studies aimed at improving their mental, emotional and psychomotor development. Among the services we provide are information and counseling are given to nearly 70,000 girls in the fields of law, education, health and nutrition.'' he said.

(Note: Real name of the beneficiary has been changed.)