Religion has played an integral part
in many important issues in history, such as the rise and falls of various
empires. It also can influence many social issues, such as child labor. According
to the CIA’s World Fact Book, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, or simply
Afghanistan in the vernacular, is religiously 80% Sunni Muslim, 19% Shia, and a
mere 1% other. Hence, the Afghan citizens generally follow a form of Islamic
law, or sharia. The particular form that they are coerced to follow is a
Taliban approved radical form, imposed during the Taliban’s rule over Afghanistan.
Puritanical Islam prohibits women from working out of the home and supports only
religious education, contributing to the cycle of child labor.
Many Muslims believe that women should
not be treated the same as men and this attitude has plagued Afghanistan for
years. However, when the Taliban assumed power in 1996, they imposed a
theocratic government based on their interpretation of the Koran, an
interpretation that results in picking and choosing certain parts of the Koran
to support it and ignoring the rest. This radical, or “puritanical” as El Fadl would say, sharia was forced on the country for roughly five years and plunged
the plight of women further because it views empowering women as a western
idea; the Taliban rejects all western influences. In fact, in El Fadl devotes
many pages in his book, The Great Theft: Wresting Islam from the Extremists,
to describing the various rules women are forced to follow under puritan law. According
to Ritscher, “The veil became the law of the land, and women were forbidden
from attending school or holding employment outside of the home.” By
preventing women from working out of the home, the sharia limits the possible
income they could make and forces them to resort to have their children work to
get enough money to sustain themselves. Hence, the Taliban’s sharia has
propagated the cycle of child labor in Afghanistan.
The current Afghani government under
the Karzai administration does mandate schooling for children in religious institutions
known as a “madrassah.” Now, these
madrassahs have been around since the seventh century and have always taught religious
studies and today, they are supplemented with various modern subjects. However,
according to Abdulbaqi, is quite substandard and fails to allow children to
really understand anything they are learning. “these institutions cannot produce graduates who can provide
effective guidance and leadership to society to address its current problems.”
(Abdulbaqi) Additionally, the religious education children receive usually
falls in line with Taliban beliefs, expanding the problem. Due to the fact that
the children generally do not learn much in these religious madrassahs and that
the curriculum is focused on Talibanic religious material, parents decide to
send their children to work because at work, they can develop a useful skill
that will better secure a stable future.
Additional Sources:
Abdulbaqui, Misbah. "Madrassah in Afghanistan: Evolution and Its Future." Madrassah in Afghanistan: Evolution and Its Future. Institute of Policy Studies, 2008. Web. 14 May 2012. <http://www.ips.org.pk/the-muslim-world/989-madrassah-in-afghanistan-evolution-and-its-future.html>.
"Central Intelligence Agency." CIA. Web. 14 May 2012. <https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/af.html>.
Ritscher, Adam. "Afghanistan History." Afghanistan History. Web. 14 May 2012. <http://www.afghangovernment.com/briefhistory.htm>.
Comment to Kevin by Aleksandra
ReplyDeleteThe madrassas that Kevin writes about are not only substandard but also dangerous in the sense that they have the potential to produce more insurgents. As of January 5, 2012, the Taliban runs the schools under their own rules due to secret agreements made with the Afghan government (Giustozzi). The Taliban is a puritanical movement, meaning that the organization selects only specific passages from the Qur’an to legitimize their generally violent actions and remain in power (El Fadl). This narrow mindset is reflected in the schools, where teachers must follow the Taliban regulations. This clearly causes brainwashing, as children will come to believe in the radical beliefs that the Taliban espouses. As a result, the number of insurgents will increase, thereby increasing instability in the country. This factor affects the child labor issue in two ways. First, some parents will have knowledge of this narrow-minded education and will, therefore, choose to send their children to work since they believe the learning of a skill is more beneficial to their children’s future than sitting in a substandard classroom (Sim). Also, as instability increases, the use of child labor will also increase, as families will need that extra income in order to survive.
Response to Kevin by Cathlynne:
ReplyDeleteKevin is accurate in stating that the puritanical Islam rule of the Taliban contributes to the cycle of child labor. Women have been oppressed by so many years by numerous laws that they are insecure about making a change in their lives. Tather, children are still being set to work, increasing child labor. Also, as Kevin mentioned, are the madrassas. These are religiously affiliated schools that educate the children according to the Taliban. Madrassas were the only schools available for most of the children during the Taliban, therefore many chose to work rather than get this poor type of education. This carried on even after the Taliban because many schools and institutions are still being ran by them. THerefore, because of the puritan view of the Taliban for power, child labor is being enforced in Afghanistan.
Response to Kevin by Christine:
ReplyDeleteKevin portrays the issue of child labor in relation to religion very well. The controlling sharia imposed and militarily enforced by the Taliban destroyed the very rights that the Afghan women were beginning to receive. Women’s rights in relation to child labor seem to be a common theme in all of our blog posts simply because it, as Kevin points out, “contributes to the cycle of child labor”. Parents are weary of sending their children to madrassas for a religious education not only because they do not learn much and due to the Taliban-centered curriculum, but also because they fear for the lives of their children. The Taliban was initially made up of madrassa graduates which makes sense because “talib” in Arabic means “student.” Many of the boys that attend these madrassas are influenced by the Taliban beliefs, join the Taliban, and terrorize their own country. Child soldiering is also to an extent a form of child labor. This is destructive and leads many parents to send their children to work rather than having their children risk their lives and their dignity. “In Afghanistan, the Taliban recruited primarily from madrassas near Ghazni and Kanhadahar” (Johnson and Mason) Kevin is right in stating that parents’ worry about sending their children to school, but did not completely explain the tremendous influence that the Taliban have on young children.
Johnson, Thomas H., and M. Chris Mason. "Understanding the Taliban and Insurgency in Afghanistan." Http://www.nps.edu/programs/ccs/docs/pubs/understanding%20the%20taliban%20and%20insurgency%20in%20afghanistan.pdf. Web.
I thank Aleksandra, Christine, and Cathlynne for their input. I am relieved that they all agree with me regarding the degradation of women's rights as a major factor in the cycle of child labor. As Aleks and Christine pointed out, I did not fully discuss the role of madrassas on child labor. I agree with their argument that the Taliban-centered religious education does contribute to child labor by brainwashing the children and turning them into members of the Taliban. It also deters parents from sending their children to school and instead they send them to work. However, I also feel the need to add that another reason that parents do not send their children to work is the simple difficulty of the actual curriculum. "It requires students to study as many as 12 subjects in each grade and, as such, is quite difficult for an average student." (Abdulbaqi) Abdulbaqi also stated that "Firstly, in Sunni madrassahs particularly, only traditional Islamic subjects are taught, neglecting modern subjects and ignoring national languages and reading and writing skills. The graduates are therefore ill-equipped to deal with the challenges of the modern world." Since Afghanistan is a predominantly Sunni country, many children would not be skilled at reading and writing. This "substandard" education contributes to parents' decisions to send children to work.
ReplyDelete