Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Thursday, March 28th, 2024

The Role of Youth in Afghanistan

For the last few decades Afghanistan has been going through a very difficult time. The country has been largely influenced by insecurity, and the incapacity of the leaders to guide the nation towards integration and prosperity has added fuel to the fire. The insecurity and instability have always hampered the initiatives for betterment and development. They have also influenced the human resource within the country and thus blocked the opportunities towards their capacity and character building. Nevertheless, it is important to note that though different sorts of problems have dominated the Afghan society, the performance, vigor and the spirits of Afghan youth have never disappointed. Among difficulties and disappointments, it is encouraging to find many of them motivated towards education and positive life and hopefully if they are given the chance to reign over the important institutions, they will be able to bring about many positive changes.
Their recent role in media, modern education and information technology has convinced many that they have the potential to guarantee a prosperous future but there should be more efforts on the part of government for their improvement so that they are able to compete on the regional and international levels and become confident enough to stand on their own.
It is always important that the youth should be motivated and appreciated for their achievement. Being emotional in their behavior, youngsters can be best guided through appreciation and gratitude. Appreciation has the capacity to unfold the potentials and divert them towards great achievements. Moreover, appreciation of the positive achievements can also initiate a positive competition among the youngsters and they strive to vie for those achievements instead of getting caught in negative competition and losing their way. Thus, positive competition will not only support them in developing their own potentials and skills but will also provide benefits to the society as a whole.    
Educated youngsters will be motivated if they find that their talents are being observed and being valued. The developed countries of the world have a great respect for the contribution of youth and the educational institutions, particularly the universities play a dominant role in their societies. Most of the youth are hired directly from the universities and they do not have to run after the jobs once they complete their education. The coordination between the educational institutions and public and private institutions are very strong and they fully understand one another’s requirements; therefore, they prepare accordingly and do not have to face the issue of unemployment to a large extent. Currently, Afghanistan is producing many educated youth but it should also have mechanism wherein these youth are compensated in their own professions; otherwise, their education may be wasted.
Afghanistan has the opportunity of making maximum benefits from its youth as its 60 percent population is below the age of 25. Many of them have the tendency to bring about positive changes in the society as they seem tired of instability and war. However, there are many others who have been victimized by the ongoing conflicts and instability and do not see any hope to come out of the quagmire. However, Afghanistan has an opportunity to use such a large number of human resource for a better tomorrow.
Without the contribution of the youth in Afghanistan, it would be very difficult to see a healthy transition towards a democratic country and better economy as youth can have the real understanding for such a system and can work for it. They are being educated within a system that at least has some sort of structure and function, while the old generation did not have such an opportunity as they were going through civil wars and chaotic instability.
However, without a comprehensive strategy it would be really difficult for Afghanistan to make any achievement regarding the development and the improvement of the youth and their roles within the society. Afghan authorities need to design comprehensive policies in this regard and also design the ways to achieve them. Promises alone and separated actions would not bear any fruit and the youth would remain in the situation that is not favorable for their growth and capacity enhancement.   
Afghanistan has to prepare itself for providing higher education based on modern techniques and methodologies, better exposure opportunities, and ultimately job opportunities to this large number of people, which is the only way to make them play positive role. Every year a large number of youngsters complete their education and strive to find employment so that they are able to earn a livelihood and at the same time support their families and country. Some of them even turn to social evils and particularly they are recruited by the terrorists as they are not able to find proper job opportunities elsewhere. Therefore, they should be provided chances so that they are able to play a positive role in the society instead of becoming a burden or part of problem.