Education for Afghans in Iran

[haman10]

TEHRAN, Islamic Republic of Iran, June 16 (UNHCR) - Afghan [<guest>] Nasibah is now an obstetrics surgeon in Iran, an achievement she and her family never felt possible. The 32-year-old faced tremendous obstacles in pursuing her dream.

"Travelling long distances to reach school; money shortages; long periods away from family; cultural discrimination and social pressure from my own community, which could have limited my access to education. Yet, all this was worth it; I have a promising and fulfilling road ahead," she said.

Looking at the future of Afghanistan and the challenging and tough conditions there, including the high maternal death rate, Nasibah decided to pursue obstetrics to help make a difference and support fellow Afghans. "I now work in Shahr-e- Rey, south of Tehran, and have treated more than 700 patients since I started working a few months ago, many of whom are my fellow citizens," she said.

Following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, Nasibah, her farmer father, her mother and older sister fled to Iran from a small village in Kandahar province. After several days walking across mountains, rivers and deserts, they sought refuge in north-east Iran. Empty-handed, they settled in the city of Mashhad, where Nasibah was later born.

When she was eight years old and had only just started school, Nasibah and her family moved from Mashhad to Damavand, where her father could farm day and night to support his growing family.

"The chance to access education from primary school to university is the greatest service that the Islamic Republic of Iran has extended me and many other refugees in this country," said Nasibah. Her story is just one example of how the Iranian government, with the support of UNHCR, tries to provide support to refugees through education, health, vocational skills and opportunities so they can eventually help rebuild their own country.

There are more than 840,000 Afghan refugees living in Iran. The Iranian government assists refugees with medical services, education, literacy classes and also employment. More than 95 per cent of all refugees are living in urban and semi-urban areas. Between January 2002 and 2013, UNHCR assisted more than 915,000 Afghans to return home voluntarily.

Nasibah hopes peace and stability will prevail in Afghanistan so she can return. "When I go back I will take many good memories from Iran and I will be grateful to have had the opportunity to have lived and studied in peace and security for such a long time. I hope in the future, I will be able to help women back home with the knowledge I have acquired in Iran," she said.

Education opens doors for Afghan refugees in Iran

 

[Pakistanisage]

Congrats to Nasibah and kudos to her for her strong ambition and undying Spirit.

 

[Arslan230]

It is the good step of Govt to give Education to another countries.

 

[Excelias]

Congrats to the Doc and kudos to the Iranians for helping afghans realise their potential.

 

[haman10]

Congrats to Nasibah and kudos to her for her strong ambition and undying Spirit.

its all our fault that we are all 3rd world countries . why is US 10 times more advanced in science than all of our countries ?

is their IQ higher ? the answer is a simple NO . the difference is that we sit our A$$es all day long waiting for others to make the ladder for us to climb.

and thats not gonna happen . we should make our own path , build the needed infrastructure for these smart young people to thrive .

kodus to her indeed . kodus to all those people like her who fight their way up .

 

[mughal arslan shah mirza]

its all our fault that we are all 3rd world countries . why is US 10 times more advanced in science than all of our countries ?

is their IQ higher ? the answer is a simple NO . the difference is that we sit our A$$es all day long waiting for others to make the ladder for us to climb.

and thats not gonna happen . we should make our own path , build the needed infrastructure for these smart young people to thrive .

kodus to her indeed . kodus to all those people like her who fight their way up .

Brother, Many third-world countries are caught up in this loop of constant debt-cycle. This is not just a war based on military might but has an economic base. Just read about how IMF/world bank keep developing countries hostage to debt. And yeah you're absolutely right in that as long as we are sucking on the tit of these 'economic organizations' , most of the developing world would have issues. In this regard though, Iran is doing quite good actually (at least better than many) and I hope it keeps getting stronger.
Big congrats to Nasibah.

 

[haman10]

Big congrats to Nasibah.

yep , indeed !

 

[Thoryalai Zazai]

why is US 10 times more advanced in science than all of our countries ?

...because they embraced the Enlightenment in full vigour and denied Tyranny by way of absolute rulers and religious pretenders to God's sovereignty.

 

[Charon 2]

I've heard that there is extreme racism in Iran against Afghans where they call Afghans "uncivilized animals and thieves". Especially Hazaras despite being Shias have a hard time there and experience hatred and racism by Iranians.

 

[Marwat Khan Lodhi]

Bakwas iranian propaganda. Reality is very bitter. Read this
Unwelcome Guests | Human Rights Watch

 

[Thoryalai Zazai]

I've heard that there is extreme racism in Iran against Afghans where they call Afghans "uncivilized animals and thieves". Especially Hazaras despite being Shias have a hard time there and experience hatred and racism by Iranians.

Precisely....to be fair, a high proportion of Afghans who've lived in Iran now contribute to the growing human capital across the country. Many returning Hazaras in particular show a significant level of higher learning that challenge historical perceptions of them as backward, with plenty of racism that went with it. However, many Afghans question the costs here, as in state indoctrination for the benefit of Iran's national interest. Afghans have been seen fighting Iran's wars in the past, as well as in support of the Syrian army in their present civil war. We find this development alarming and in need of closer monitoring. There's strong preference in Afghanistan for locally produced talent, hence the expansion of Universities across the country. However, for those needing to build their skills abroad, we prefer Turkey, India and the US, all of which have indeed been helping a lot of Afghans gain needed skills, although the more the merrier. Over the last 13 years, we've been amazed at the rising quality of our educated youth, including those who've studied in Iran.

Had Iran been a peaceful liberal Democracy or a developing Democracy, we'd have lesser reasons to suspect the worst. After all, our peoples have interacted for centuries in mutual benefit and I for one enjoy the company of Liberal minded Iranians in particular. Not all Afghans share this, but that's because not all Afghans know how to deal with Iranians. At present however, we naturally see an ideological clash of interests that dampens our relations somewhat. We've to balance that reality with the need to trade and interact with Iranians as a neccessity. As you can appreciate, it's not for lack of needs that we'd like to maintain a strong relationship with the United States. Even Karzai with all his stated misgivings and personal theatrics around not signing the BSA, would rather maintain close relations.