Opium Brides ~ Afghan Collateral Social Damage

PBS Frontline documents Opium Brides...

"Afghan opium farmers have long borrowed money from drug gangs to subsidize their crops. Now, as the Afghan government destroys their livelihood in an eradication program, the farmers find themselves in a horrifying situation: repay their debts or give their daughters to drug-traffickers. Najibullah Quraishi reports on the harrowing story of the collateral damage of the counter-narcotics effort."

Razia Jan ~ Afghan Girls' Schoolteacher Heroine

CNN's Allie Torgan tells of girls' school founder-teacher Razia Jan in Acid attacks, poison: What Afghan girls risk going to school...

"There were at least 185 documented attacks on schools and hospitals in Afghanistan last year, according to the United Nations. The majority were attributed to armed groups opposed to girls' education. "It is heartbreaking to see the way these terrorists treat... women," said Jan, 68. [...] They are scared that when these girls get an education, they will become aware of their rights as women and as a human being." Despite the threat of violence, Jan continues to open the doors of her Zabuli Education Center, a two-story, 14-room building where 354 area girls are receiving a free education. [...] "My school is very small. It's nothing big. But for this to start here, I think it's like a fire. And I think it will grow," she said. "I hope that one day these girls... will come back and teach."

Marjan's Struggle ~ Afghan Girl & Family vs Winter

CNN spotlights Afghan 5-year-old Marjan and her family's struggles...

"Instead of going to school, Marjan scavenges for hours with her 10-year-old aunt collecting trash. It is a heavy burden for such a small child but a necessary one. The trash she collects is what her family uses as fuel for cooking and, more importantly, to fend off Kabul's bitter winter. [...] UNICEF, the UN children's agency, says that Afghanistan is the worst place in the world to be a child. One in five children do not live past the age of five. [...] Marjan is constantly blowing warm air on her hands, which are grimy and cracked from the cold. She kicks off her plastic, torn shoes and tries to warm her feet on the trash fire blazing under the kettle. But it is never enough. A meal is scraps of bread and weak tea. Even though she has never set foot in a classroom, Marjan dreams of being a teacher. She also loves to play with dolls. But in one of the world's poorest countries, she is, instead, responsible for her family's survival."