Afghan women overflow Herat's schools

  • 12 years ago
In 2009, a dozen girls graduated from Pashtunzagan's school system. Now, roughly 1,200 19-year-olds are set to become high school seniors in this district in western Herat province.

One local administrator calls the rise in enrollment, which has seen girls overflowing extra tents, a "revolution" for an area where families once would have rather killed their daughters than send them to school under Taliban rule.

But ingrained customs and prejudices remain, and educating women remains a challenge: Of the 1,200 seniors, only 30 are likely to meet the requirements to graduate.

Al Jazeera's Bernard Smith reports.

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