Kabul [Afghanistan], August 8 : In order to strengthen the reading culture in Afghanistan, a group of young people in Kabul organised the "Smart Way" book display, according to TOLOnews.
By implementing such initiatives, young people claimed they want to inspire residents, particularly other young people, to read literature, as the Taliban has already put strict restrictions on the education of young girls and women in Afghanistan.
“We held it to create a culture for the youth of our society to read books, books are entertainment for them,” an organizer, Sharifa Hesar said, according to TOLOnews.
“The purpose of holding this exhibition is to strengthen the culture of reading among young people,” said Farhad Malik Zada, an organizer.
Meanwhile, several expo attendees told TOLOnews that the reasons why individuals don't study enough are related to the economy, a lack of employment opportunities, and a high usage of social media. Visitors, however, claimed that organising such displays was successful in promoting reading culture.
“We asked the young people to buy and read books in this hard situation where schools and universities are closed, and there are no work opportunities for them,” said Nayema, a visitor, according to TOLOnews.
The stagnation of the book-selling business over the past two years has alarmed booksellers in Kabul and the surrounding regions, who have regularly voiced their concern, according to TOLOnews.
Notably, Afghanistan, under the Taliban, is facing its worst humanitarian crisis and the women of the country are denied fundamental rights. According to a World Food Programme assessment, Afghanistan is one of the nations with extreme food insecurity, with nine million people affected by severe economic difficulties and hunger.
Since the Taliban seized power in August 2021, the law and order situation in the country has only deteriorated, with the rise in cases of terrorism and blasts.
The group banned women from going to schools. Later in December last year, they banned women from going to universities and working with aid agencies. Earlier this year, the Taliban also imposed a ban on salons, which were a major employment source for women.
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