On November 17, 1965 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared 8th September as International Literacy Day.
Its main purpose was to open the minds of the masses regarding the far-reaching importance of education. International Literacy Day reminds the societies, communities and individuals about the status of literacy and adult learning around the world.
The International Literacy Day is celebrated around the world by various government and non-government offices working for the promotion of educational activities. Literacy is considered vital for consistent development in all sectors of a society. Today, the societies with high literacy rates have high living standards, approach to the latest technology and clear concepts.
In Afghanistan there is not any reliable statistics regarding the literacy rate but according to estimates the overall literacy rate is around 35 percent however, the literacy rate in girls and women is only about 15 percent.
The low literacy rate is due to thirty years of conflict that is still lingering. Almost three decades of conflict have devastated much of Afghanistan's human, physical and institutional infrastructure, and insecurity remains a critical challenge to development efforts.
Taliban did not allow Afghan males to get formal education and education of women were completely banned. After their regime was toppled in late 2001, they have tried to create hindrances for Afghans to get education by burning schools, killing teachers and students and attacking with acid or poisonous gas on schoolgirls.
Since 2003, UNESCO has supported the Ministry of Education in Afghanistan to develop technical and structural foundations for promoting literacy and non-formal education notably through the provision of quality learning materials and the development of countrywide curriculum, training materials and resources, including primers and post-literacy textbooks.
However, there are still significant obstacles to education in Afghanistan, many of which stem from a lack of funding. Planning curricula and school programs is difficult for the Ministry of Education because a significant amount of the budget for education comes from varying external donors each year, making it difficult to predict what the annual budget will be.
The obstacles to education are even more numerous for Afghan girls. Some Afghan parents refuse to let their daughters attend schools in conditions prevailing in Afghanistan. A lack of women teachers is another issue that concerns some Afghan parents, especially in more conservative areas.
Some parents will not allow their daughters to be taught by men. But this often means that girls are not allowed to attend school, according to estimates only about one quarter of Afghan teachers is women.