"I will be a teacher"

I told the man at the US Embassy that I want to come back to Afghanistan and be a teacher. He said if I will be a teacher he will give me a visa. My country needs teachers. There are not enough and the people need to be educated. - Shakib

Sunday night was Family Movie Night at our house. We ordered pizza and watched "Speed." It was the only action movie that I found in our collection. And Shakib, whose favorite actor is Sylvester Stallone (i.e. Rambo), wanted action -- either that or horror.

He loved the movie, laughing at the jokes and enjoying the suspense as a busload of people careened down LA city streets and freeways with a bomb on board. He is clearly able to distinguish a fictional film from the daily threat of suicide bombs that he faced at home. Of course, the good guys prevailed. And the most uncomfortable scene for Shakib turned out to be the big kiss between Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock at the end.

After the movie, Shakib was especially talkative, sharing his vision for his life. It was the first time that he mentioned teaching as a possible career.

He says that in Afghanistan, he was chosen to teach English at his school. He earned extra money this way and enjoyed teaching. Many of his students were adult women. This is unusual for an Afghan teenager. Then again, Shakib is not a typical Afghan boy.

My impression after 12 days together is that Shakib is gentle, sensitive and kind. He says that he prefers the company of a few close friends because he finds most of his peers to be bullies. He does not like how they fight with each other nor how they taunt and tease the girls.

Although most Afghan students still attend unisex schools, Shakib says that they are now able to intermingle and develop friendships - at least in the capital where he lives. He often distinguishes between life in Kabul and life in the provinces, some of which are currently under Taliban control. Other provinces, though secure from the insurgents, are still very conservative in their practices.

While Kabul is currently secure from the Taliban and human rights have been restored, that was not the case when Shakib was a child.

The Taliban took power in Kabul in 1996. They targeted women for extreme repression, virtually placing them under house arrest. They issued edicts forbidding women to work outside the home, attend school, or to leave their homes unless accompanied by a male relative. In public, women had to be covered from head to toe in a burqa. Houses and buildings had to have their windows painted over so women could not be seen inside. Women were practically banned from public life, and denied access to health care, education, and work. They were not even allowed to laugh in a manner that could be heard by others. These edicts remained in force until the end of 2001 when Afghan Northern Alliance troops with American air support took back the capital after 9/11.

As a child, Shakib witnessed the beating of his mother and other women in the streets of Kabul. He was 8 years old when the Taliban were ousted from his city.

Shakib is the son of university-educated parents. His mother is an educator who continued to teach girls in her home during the reign of the Taliban. This was no secret school; however, she was required to teach only the state mandated curriculum for girls.

His mother has clearly been a big influence on him. He says she taught him that he must give back to his society and contribute. This is his duty. All of her children have attended university, and Shakib will too. After all, Afghanistan needs teachers.

Just how great is the need? According to UNICEF, the adult literacy rate (2003-2008) is only 28% and only 18% of girls age 15-24 can read.

I do not know if Shakib will become a school teacher. I am certain that he will go back and teach.