In the Gafurov region of Tajikistan’s Sogd oblast, local NGO New Generation has been opening a new world of opportunity for young women through its Center for Social-Psychological Adaptation of Girls. The Center focuses on girls who do not attend school, though it is also open to others, and aims to impart practical skills to young women who might otherwise have few opportunities for personal development.

“One of our primary goals was to provide these girls with real skills so that they can earn money on their own, especially if their husbands are in Moscow,” explained Mukhbira Tyuryaeva, Director of New Generation. Many girls in the region marry at 17 or 18, only to find themselves on their own when their husbands leave for Russia to find work (The Gafurov region has the highest unemployment rate in Tajikistan, and the problem is especially pronounced among young men.).

“Often, parents are only waiting for their daughter to marry, and assume that she will become the concern of her husband and his family,” Tyuryaeva said. “They see their task as getting her married, rather than ensuring that she gets an education.” At the Center, girls acquire skills such as baking and sewing traditional clothing so that they can earn money without leaving home. Many live in isolated rural areas, and parents are often unwilling to let them work away from home. With the help of EFCA, New Generation has educated 97 girls, giving them free access to courses on subjects such as culinary arts, computer skills, sewing, and Russian.

Besides imparting these practical skills, the Center also allows girls to develop as leaders and exercise personal initiative. Faransh Sarkerbabayeva. 17, and Parvina Khodtaeva, 18, have been volunteering at the Center for two years. “There is no other place for young people in our town,” said Parvina. “After the Center opened, we started coming here every day.” Faransh agreed: “Before, we just went back and forth between home and school. This Center has really brought something new into our lives,” she said.

Both girls have taken knitting classes at the Center. This new skill both provides them a pastime—as Faransh said, “there’s not much to do in the winter”—and earns them pocket money. Parvina was even able to teach her mother a new knitting technique. The girls were recently awarded first place in their school’s “umelye ruki” competition. “Our school’s principal was very surprised that we learned to knit here,” said Faransh. “At first she was upset that we spent so much time here. Now, she sends all the girls from our school to the Center.” “She saw that the girls had been very positively affected,” Tyuryaeva agreed.

As volunteers, Faransh and Parvina lead seminars and organize events in local schools. They started a school paper and collected money to purchase clothes and toys for a local orphanage. They also led seminars on tolerance at their school, which serves both Tajik and Uzbek students.  Although they attend the same school, the two ethnic groups study in different buildings, and there are sometimes misunderstandings between them. The seminars, Faransh and Parvina said, have contributed to greater integration between ethnic Tajiks and Uzbeks. “They’ve even begun to celebrate holidays together,” Parvina said.
Their involvement and initiative have earned the girls recognition in their community. “We’ve learned a lot and made many new friends,” Parvina said. “People from other schools recognize us on the street.”

The girls finished school this spring, and both plan to continue their studies. Faransh has been admitted to the Agrotechnology Faculty at the Khudjand branch of Tajikistani Technological University. “Tajikistan is an agricultural country, so it doesn’t make sense that all the young people want to become economists. That’s why I’m going to become an agronomist,” she explained. Parvina, meanwhile, will study journalism at Khujand State University. Both plan to continue their community involvement once they enter university. “We’ve gotten used to this kind of lifestyle,” Faransh explained.

Author: Maria Blackwood

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