As children in Afghanistan stare at an uncertain future, Matiullah Wesa, founder of Pen Path, an NGO that helped reopen hundreds of schools across Afghanistan, speaks exclusively to The Week from Kabul, saying they are determined to continue to campaign for right to education of children, especially girls. His NGO is conducting door-to-door campaigns, distributing books, building libraries in remote areas and launching awareness drives across Afghanistan encouraging people to educate children and protect schools.
Excerpts from the interview:
Are you happy with pullout of the US Forces?
Nations are built by its own people and we Afghans have been trying to be self-reliant and self-sufficient for some time. I thank the international community for their help and support in the last years. I think Afghans do not like to have foreign troops in their country. The pullout of US and international troops could have been done in a more orderly fashion which would have created safe environment for peace talks and the subsequent new government.
How did you become an educationist?
My father and grandfather had been elders of our tribe and had large tracks of land and gardens. My father was the first person to build a school for girls in our district in 2003. I was in the fourth grade when unknown people in the dark of night burned down our school. After that, the kids in our district including me were deprived of learning and my father was threatened by the insurgents to leave the district and we moved to the town. The burning of our school was the inspiration for me and my brother Attaullah Wesa to launch Pen Path in 2009 and to advocate for the right to education. All my siblings are educated and have been volunteers at Pen Path. My family has been supporting me financially through the years.
What are your future plans for Pen Path?
We are continuing our activities regardless who comes into power as we are a volunteer organisation working for public interest. We are expanding our programmes to all parts of Afghanistan, promoting education for all, especially girls’ education as this is our red line, making libraries and raising awareness about rights of people as sovereign citizens.
What are your hopes from the Taliban?
Access to education is a human right and every Afghan boy and girl should be allowed to pursue education as it is commanded by Islam too. If Taliban wants a prosperous, stable and respected Afghanistan, they should allow humanitarian, volunteer organisations, and NGOs to work alongside the government to cater to the needs of Afghans especially in the rural areas.
What is your message to the Taliban?
If the Taliban wants to end violence, war and destruction in Afghanistan, they should allow boys and girls to get educated and create an enlightened society that knows its rights and the rights of others which would in return help in resisting violence and extremism.
How many volunteers does Pen Path have and how are they working during the ongoing strife?
We have 2,400 volunteers around Afghanistan. We work as a family and I have been in constant contact with as many members as I have been able to check on them and ensure their safety. Due to the ongoing war, we have lost two members of our organisation in the last month. I request them to make sure they are safe with their families and if the conditions are safe, continue their work. Most of our Board Members are well-known faces on social media because of their activism and I am especially worried for their security.
How much difference has Pen Path been able to make ?
Through Pen Path, we have provided access to education to 57,000 children who were deprived of education and reopened 100 schools which were closed due to insecurity and lack of resources. We are arranging literacy classrooms for 1,400 girls in their homes who had no schools in their area. We made 38 libraries in remote areas all across Afghanistan .
We are launching book drives under the name of #1book4peace and collecting 3,40,000 books . We are collecting school stationary from donations and distributing it on 1,400,000 children. In future, we will continue to work with them and encourage them to go to school and finish their education and take part in the betterment of Afghanistan.
Do you wish to travel to India?
Yes, I have gone to university in India and I have a very positive impression of India. I have friends, colleagues and professors in India. I love Indian chai, biryani, and ice cream and culture and historical sites. I would like to explore India further by visiting its schools, universities and orphanages and extrapolate their experiences to my own country.
What did you study in India?
I have done both BA ( Political Science, Pune University and one year leadership course from Pune) and MA in India. The last time I was in India was November 2019 as I finished my MA at Jamia Hamdard Univeristy in New Delhi. My experience in India has been very positive and memorable.
My message to India and international community is that please don’t abandon Afghan children and support their hopes and dreams of education. I request international community to actively support peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan. Afghans, as any other people, need peace, stability and security.
