KURDISTAN, Organ of the Central Committee of PDKI

  “Every one has the right to have access to training and education…technical training should become
  public and high level studies should be available to all equally so every one can equally enjoy their
  existance.” (1)

              The establishment and expansion of educational centers, and providing its various requirements
  that gives all the members of society the opportunity to have access to education is the primary
  responsibility of every accountable state.  In this case, the disadvantaged and under-developed regions
  must become governments’ top priorities.  Such an initiative while accommodates the fundamental
  rights of a segment of society, it is also a step forward in constructing growth and developmental basis
  of society in all dimensions.  But unfortunately, as a result of lack of commitments of government
  ruling Kurdistan, in this situation, we currently observe a huge segment of our society who due to
  various obstacles has been deprived from pursuing their studies and developing their talents.

              The issue of deprivation of rural girls from continued schooling has existed in the last two
  decades, despite the growing literacy in Kurdish villages, and other deprived areas.  The prolongment
  of such situation has increased the number of girls deprived from higher education.  It should also be
  noted that discussing rural girls does not mean that other groups are in a better condition.  Such
  analysis, on one hand, is the indication of the existance of several layers of oppression that rural girls
  are trapped in, and on the other, the important impact that increasing rural girls literacy level will have
  in changing current public relations, growth and development in society.            In analyzing the
  condition of continuing studies of these girls, we find several obstacles that are related and work
  together to create such a deprivation for rural girls:

        Lack of necessary attention from authorities and their economic planners in the growth of
  educational center networks, particularly in providing accommodation for upper studies (secondary and
  post-secondary education) in rural areas, despite the fact that every year the majority of students in
  rural areas finish their elementary school, has resulted in the deprivation of a notable segment of
  society, especially girls in senior elementary and secondary school.  Of course, in this case not all the
  girls are in the same situation; despite the fact that senior elementary schools have been created in
  some rural areas, many of these female students face such problems after finishing basic elementary
  school.  A research done in one of the Kurdish provinces is a good support for such claims: “From girls
  in Kurdistan province only 23 773 were active in senior elementary that were mostly from urban
  areas.  In school year 1997, for the first time one 24-hours female high school with the capacity of 124
  students in one of the rural areas of the province was established”. (2)

              If shortage or lack of educational and training facilities is one of the obstacles ahead of many
  girls going beyond their elementary studies, there are also other reasons that in many cases work side
  by side to create the current situation: traditional, religious thinking of many rural families in regards to
  the issue of literacy of girls in general, and going beyond elementary in particular, and lack of girls
  independence (and women in general) along with material impoverishment, and country’s economic
  crisis are also the reasons for rural girls early drop-out.  It is the results of such realities that the
  average of female literacy level in rural areas is at its lowest (4 years).  But if the illiterate girls of rural
  areas are put into the equation, there we find even a more disturbing result.

              As it is evident, rural girls lack of access of necessary education and training has resulted in
  destructive consequences for them and society in general.  In such conditions, we will constantly
  observe the repeated and renewed oppression and deprivation on one hand, and under-development of
  huge segment f our society’s population on the other.  They cannot develop their talents and creativity
  due to shortage of scientific and technical knowledge and training, and at the end, they will be unable
  to change political climate in unequal conditions that have been mounted on them by family and
  society.  Consequently, they will be unable to obtain their individual rights and freedom as their
  ancestors.  This situation will result in continuing under-development of rural areas and society in
  general in cultural, economic and social aspects.

              Here, we can conclude that oppression and deprivation that is used in regards to the rural girls
  of Kurdistan, aside from being an subjugation directly against them, it is an oppression against the
  Iranian Kurdish society in general.  For ending such and creating conditions that they can obtain their
  human rights and become an active force in the service of development and growth of Kurdish society,
  educational networks in deprived areas need to be expanded as soon as possible, and rural girls should
  acquire necessary material and moral facilities for continuing their studies.  The unfavourable
  conditions that they are situated in must be identified and known, and attempts must be made to
  increase the level of rural families knowledge considering the importance of education in general and
  for girls as an important segment of society in particular.

              One last point that the deprivation of rural girls from their most basic rights in this age that
  other societies have obtained astonishing achievements and wonderful developments, is a sorrow
  reality that has become the characteristics and an indication of under-development in our society.  Of
  course this is an indication of situation filled with oppression and tyrannical ruling that the enemies of
  Kurds and Kurdistan have been the main cause of such a tragedy.  Maybe the day of its extinction will
  come in the victory and the Kurdish peoples’ attainment of their legitimate rights and demands
  (freedom, democracy, and ethnic rights).

  Sources:

  (1) A selection from Article 26, part 1 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 13 of
  UN Convention on Economic, social, and cultural.

  (2) "Women in Iran's Labour Market", page 253

  Article translated from KURDISTAN, Organ of the Central Committee of PDKI
*************************
The Kurdistan Observer
www.kurdistanobserver.com