Studying was the last thing most women in Afghanistan spent time on until a couple years ago, after the Taliban regime was ousted. But now they have a chance to become literate, and a Japanese nongovernmental organization is helping.
Although religious and social challenges remain, the literacy program is expected to help Afghan women build confidence and play essential roles in improving their war-battered country, where their involvement in society was strictly curtailed under Taliban rule.
"Our success depends on how much they can enjoy learning," Yukitoshi Matsumoto, chief of the Kabul office of the Tokyo-based National Federation of UNESCO Associations in Japan, said at a recent briefing in Tokyo.
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