By: Sadaf Rahnaward
The recent narrative on the decline of reading culture among girls in Badakhshan is more than a local story; it reflects broader social, cultural, and political dynamics in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. What once symbolized intellectual vibrancy and youthful aspiration—the presence of girls in bookshops and libraries—has now turned into silence and stagnation. This article critically analyzes the issue across multiple dimensions: social, economic, gendered, political, and symbolic.
1. Social and Cultural Dimension
Reading, especially among young women, was not merely an individual pastime in Afghanistan. It was a collective practice that represented agency, intellectual growth, and a desire for social change. The sudden collapse of this culture demonstrates a profound rupture in Afghanistan’s social fabric. When books vanish from the lives of girls, society is deprived of one of its most powerful instruments for regeneration and reform. Simply put, when reading is silenced, the future of Afghanistan is silenced too.
2. Economic Dimension
The narrative underscores the deep link between economic deprivation and cultural decline. Families struggling to afford bread cannot justify the purchase of books. The reported 45% decrease in book sales in Badakhshan serves as a stark indicator of this dual crisis—where poverty reinforces cultural stagnation, and the absence of cultural vitality perpetuates hopelessness. Books, once modestly priced and accessible, have become a luxury item in a country drowning in economic collapse.
3. Gendered Dimension
The story highlights the gender-specific nature of this cultural erosion. Girls—former students, would-be scholars, and even booksellers—bear the brunt of Taliban restrictions. When schools and universities closed to them, their access to books also diminished. For Afghan girls, books symbolize more than education; they represent autonomy, intellectual freedom, and a form of resistance to patriarchal oppression. The Taliban’s ban on education, therefore, is not only a political act but also a cultural erasure.
4. Political and Critical Dimension
The decline of book reading cannot be separated from the Taliban’s broader political project: the systematic control of knowledge. Reports that books on women’s rights, feminism, and critical thought are banned in Badakhshan demonstrate that the regime fears the power of ideas. By limiting what can be read and who can read, the Taliban attempt to manufacture a society that is obedient, silent, and devoid of critical consciousness. A regime that fears books and pens is, in reality, a regime that fears its own future.
5. Symbolic and Literary Dimension
The narrative closes with a striking metaphor: while reading is one of the cheapest forms of leisure in the world, in Afghanistan it has become a luxury, and the lives of Afghan girls themselves resemble tragic books written in ink of deprivation and lost hope. This imagery elevates the narrative beyond reportage—it becomes a cultural testimony and a symbolic indictment of the Taliban’s rule.
Conclusion
The decline of reading culture among girls in Badakhshan is not an isolated incident but part of a systemic assault on education, culture, and women’s agency in Afghanistan. It reveals how economic hardship, gender oppression, and political censorship intertwine to suffocate intellectual life. For the international community, this is not only a matter of education but a profound human rights crisis. Defending the right to read is inseparable from defending the right to think, to hope, and to resist.
