Officials in Helmand say that apart from the capital, Lashkar Gah, and the adjacent district of Greshk, female students in the remaining 12 districts of the vast southern province bordering Pakistan have not finished 12th grade. Rasuli says that insecurity due to nearly constant fighting between insurgents and the government and international forces cannot be portrayed as the key reason stopping girls from obtaining education. Helmand, the size of Switzerland, has been a key Taliban bastion since the emergence of the hard-line Islamist movement in neighboring Kandahar in the s.
But as the insurgency gained strength after the departure of most NATO troops in , the Taliban began to control territories. While the Taliban have allowed the government to continue providing limited healthcare and education, they tightly control all aspects of life in these territories and residents are even not allowed to even listen to music or radio.
Attaullah Afghan, head of the provincial council in Helmand, is urging the authorities to invest in education by first upgrading the current elementary and middle schools to include high schools. According to the Afghan Education Ministry, there are schools in Helmand. Out of these, only 19 are exclusively for girls.
At least 70 schools across the region are currently closed. Officials in Helmand say that to cater to the current number of potential students in the province they need at least 2, more teachers. To help more girls in Helmand finish high school, women should make up a large number of these new teachers.
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