Assistance of a Woman with Deprived Children and Women of her Community

Rahima Mominzada is 21 years old; she is a member of Dostan Development Council at district 11 of Herat city. By using educational packages of Citizen’s Charter Program, she created classes of literacy, Holy Quran recitation and tailoring which has provided educational and employment opportunities for the deprived children and women of her community. Currently 61 women and children are engaged in learning and  3 women were recruited as teachers.

Dostan Development Council is consisted of 243 households (899 males and 907 females) formed by Citizen’s Charter Program. Rahima Mominzada is a first year student of midwifery who also serves as member of Finance Committee. She lives in a community where due to family restrictions most of the women and girls are deprived of education. She suffers from illiteracy of women while attending the council’s meeting. 

After she received training on tools of development plan (i.e. livelihood analysis, seasonal calendar, and leaking pot and women mobility) from Citizen’s Charter Program, she noticed that it is a great opportunity provided by Citizen’s Charter Program for women’s participation and growth. And then made her efforts to provide help residents of the community to earn an education and acquaint themselves with a profession. She shared the idea with other members of the community which was accepted. With the help of them, she was able to create three classrooms (literacy, Holy Quran recitation and tailoring) at the Council’s building and started in a first day, a  literacy class. Around  25 year old woman participated. The class was established for 45 days and approximately 61 children and women were taught in three classes by three different teachers.

Rahima Mominzada teaches a class of literacy which has 17 students (5 women and 12 children). She collects 50 AFN monthly from each student and buys notebooks and pens for them so they get encouraged.

Sibghatullah a 13-year-old students of literacy class says: “4 years back he came from Oba district of Herat to the city and lives in a family consisted of 6 members, his mother is ill (lacks a kidney) and a disabled brother and he is the elder son of the family. He added ‘He was deprived of education because the Taliban burned down the school. When he came to the city, he helped his father in blacksmithing and was not interested to study. Later on,  he learns about the literacy class in his community and see that students of his age are going to school. Ultimately, he got  interested in reading and writing and joined the literacy class. He is  more positive about it and he thinks it will help him read and write.   

Mrs. Farzana, who is 19 years old, is another student of literacy class students and a mother of 2 children.  She is illiterate because she has never been to a school before. Farzans says “I was interested to go to school when I was a child but my father who was addicted to drug didn’t allow me to go to school. I was married at age 12 and after marriage my fatherin-law didn’t allow me to go to school either”. She added, “I have been living apart from my father-in-law for a while and my husband has no issue with my education, when the Development Council Office formed by the Citizen’s Charter program established a literacy class in our community, it was a great opportunity for me to study. Now, she studies with a great interest.

The Citizen’s Charter Program is to improve delivery of core infrastructure and social services to participating communities through forming and strengthening Community Development Councils for sustainable and balanced local development. It also intends to ensure safety, reduction of violence and poverty in terms of the capacity building of the development councils and building relationships at the local level.

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