Editor’s note: Part I of this series ran May 14, 2009 and focused on two Afghan students who were brought to the United States as part of a Cal Poly pilot project called Afghan Educational Outreach. This is the rest of their story.
The women’s full names have been withheld for their safety. This story will also be printed in the May 25, 2009 print edition of the Mustang Daily.
Under the Taliban’s rule
In the swarm of T-shirts and jeans sported by the average Cal Poly student, both Afghan students Farida and Ulker blend into the college landscape, free of their traditional burqas.
Ulker wore the burqa — a cloaking garment worn by women of Islamic traditions — for eight years after the Taliban arrived in her hometown during her teen years. Ulker, now 23-years-old, continued to wear the burqa of her own accord after the Taliban left until the end of 2004 when she arrived in Kabul.
Farida and her cousin gave a tour of Kabul to Ulker during her first time outside without a burqa. She admits to not recognizing any city landmarks during their outing.
“All (I did) was try to cover my face. I wasn’t comfortable. When I had my burqa on I knew what I was doing,” Ulker said. “When the Taliban were gone it was my own choice (to wear the burqa). I was much more comfortable buying stuff and talking with shopkeepers and if I could go every day nobody would know who I was. (I was) invisible.”
Over the past 30 years, Afghanistan has gone through drastic political change, with decades of government instability as it moved through Soviet occupation and then withdrawal, followed by the Taliban’s reign. The wardrobe of Afghanistan’s women has been one example of this change; in contrast to what her daughter felt she had to wear under Taliban rule, Ulker’s mom wore dresses as short as a Western mini-skirts during her 20s.
“We have a cultural tradition that a woman should be covered,” Ulker said. “They (are) more private and now, all of the sudden, everything is open with your daughter going to school. To them it’s too extreme. It’s not like after the Taliban everything become extremely hard for people. It was before we had Kings that tried to have their own way.”
Women’s education
Afghanistan’s constant instability created many problems in the region. Network news constantly reports on insurgency movements in the region, the United States occupation of Afghanistan and — more recently — women’s rights. Front covers of The New York Times tell stories of Afghan school girls poisoned with gas and acid thrown in their faces to intimidate them from going to school. Ulker does not challenge these reports, admitting to the challenges that surround her tumultuous home country.
Both Farida and Ulker say that there are some families that encourage girls to go to school and some families that strongly disagree with female education.
“It’s very important for (some Afghan) kids, to study and get an education and (then) there are other tribes in rural places in Afghanistan that don’t (believe in that),” Farida said. “If you are the only one who let’s their daughter go to school it’s shameful for them.”
Ulker agrees. “My dad is from a small village that doesn’t let their daughters go to school,” she said. “They think that if they let their daughters go to school then one day they will come back and they’ll be the ones to control their dads and moms and they don’t like the idea of their daughters standing up to them.”
“It’s funny that each part of Afghanistan, each city, each house you go to — it’s a different case and different history going on between them. I cannot generalize. I cannot judge Afghanistan. I can (analyze) my own family, myself. That’s all I can do. It’s very complicated,” Ulker said.
Their future and the future of Afghanistan
Both women say their Cal Poly degrees will be significantly advantageous when they return to Afghanistan to work. The knowledge of their own language and English will also give them a competitive edge for jobs in Afghanistan. The women hope to get master’s degrees after their receive their bachelor’s either at Cal Poly or elsewhere.
Ulker says they will probably look for work within non-governmental organizations and other Afghan companies, but admits to some hardships among Afghans getting jobs.
“The problem is now in Afghanistan there are immigrants from the Philippines, from China, from around the world who cannot find a job in their own country,” Ulker said. “U.S. bases are around so it’s easy to find these people since they know English and know how to use the computers.”
Upon expected graduation in June of 2010, the women say they are unsure but optimistic of their personal futures and the future of their country.
“(Afghans) are ready to accept the change. It’s very easy to get Afghan people to accept change. You could not believe (after the Taliban left) it was the same country you saw three months before but now it’s going backward because the Taliban are coming back strongly,” Farida said. “People are scared but Afghan people are happy. People are always singing and dancing on the streets of Afghanistan.”
Farida and Ulker have only been back to Afghanistan once for a short vacation, but they do feel hopeful about the challenges that lie ahead for their country. One thing they want to change is the perception that their country is a terrorist, drug-dealing country. As Afghans, they want to be known for something else.
“We are the happiest people. I want to tell people that we are very positive and optimistic and we all have goals. We all want our country to improve and someday compete with other countries around the world,” Farida said. “(Ulker and I) are studying ag business and we are going to go back home and change something. We have goals.”