Suzanne Fisher Staples Under The Persimmon Tree

Imagine being a young girl or boy in the Middle East begging for an education but the government led by a religious group, the Taliban, has imposed restrictions on children going to school based on a strict interpretation of the Koran. This exact situation is occurring in the Middle East and in Under the Persimmon Tree, by Suzanne Fisher Staples. In the book, Najmah is a teenager who wants an education but due to the presence of the Taliban in the Golestan Village located in Afghanistan, she can not receive an education. Another character in the book named Nusrat founded her own school to teach children of all ages in Pakistan that would not be able to attend school because of the Taliban. In the book Staples describes how the Taliban impact

educational standards and we compare the story with how children's education is being affected by the Taliban today. Educational systems in countries are usually different and vary because of culture and government. Najmah and Nusrat have been affected by the strict conditions of school that they have had to deal with enforced by the Taliban in the book and compared with the real conditions facing children in Pakistan and Afghanistan today.
Education of children is a primary theme in Under the Persimmon Tree, by Suzanne Fisher Staples where she describes the conditions of education for school age children.

The most prominent influence on education which Staples describes is how the Taliban, the religious ruling government, have affected children of all ages by limiting access to education for all school aged children. The Taliban govern from a strict interpretation of the Muslim faith and anyone disobeying the strict interpretation of the Koran is punished immediately regardless of age or gender. In the book the Taliban comes for the Golestan Village and takes Baba-Jan and Nur to go fight with other Taliban members. The Taliban conscripts the boys for the military thereby preventing them from continuing their education. "Again Mada-Jan tries to go to him, but I grab her by the arm. “"We can not stop them," I whisper. "They might hurt Baba-Jan and Nur if we resist" I hold on to her with all my strength, and she throws back her head and wails"”(Staples 14). "I wanted to study, but the Taliban shut down the schools in our village and all the villages of Kunduz. There were no schools for girls, and the only school for boys was the madrassa, where the mullahs were very strict and taught people to hate. My father would not allow Nur to go to the madrassa" (184). Najmah wishes that she could go to school and get educated, but the Taliban has prevented girls such as Najmah to get educated. Since Nusrat has a

school of her own she teaches many children who want an education and is close by her. "Nusrat stands before the children, who are refugees from Afghanistan, and points with a long stick to a large chalkboard balanced on a tripod they recite their five tables” (68). Some children in Afghanistan and Pakistan do get education, but others can not due to various reasons.
Schools have not been a priority of investment for the Pakistani government and also it has not been a stated goal that all children be educated to the same standard regardless of gender. As a result the schools have little to no materials for students to work with and in order to have materials and a functioning school you need money to pay for the cost of materials needed, but in Pakistan the government does not provide lots of money to schools that need materials. In the Middle East Pakistan is considered the least developed country for education. In Pakistan, “Women who go to school learn art, humanities, nursing, typing, home economics, and simple book keeping” (Cole Klasky). while men/boys usually go to school to get educated in science and technology. In Afghanistan, “The Taliban has impacted education because they believe that education is not important to children” (Isha Chug). Girls in Afghanistan usually do not go to school to get an education because in the Muslim religion girls are supposed to stay home and do household work and chores. Afghanistan schools are required to teach boys and girls Arabic so they can read the Koran (holy book), and they are taught biology and math the way that western children are taught. Unlike western schools with boys and girls being taught in the same classroom, schools in Afghanistan, “Don't want girls and boys to be schooled together, so they are separated” (Sriya Maguluri).